Heavy snow was forecast to hit South Korea's capital and central regions Thursday, with some parts of the Gyeonggi, Gangwon and North Chungcheong provinces predicted to see snowfalls of more than 10 centimeters, the weather agency said.

Beginning in the morning, the greater Seoul area, parts of the Gangwon, North Chungcheong and South Chungcheong provinces are likely to receive snowfall between 3 cm and 8 cm, the Korea Meteorological Administration said.

Eastern parts of Gyeonggi, central and southern inland areas of Gangwon, and northern parts of North Chungcheong could see over 10 cm of snow, it said.

Snowfall between 1 cm and 5 cm has also been forecast for other parts of North and South Chungcheong, parts of the North and South Gyeongsang provinces, and sections of the North and South Jeolla provinces.

Snow will begin to stop in the greater Seoul area in the afternoon, and by the night, most parts of the country are expected to come out of the snowy weather, according to the KMA.

Freezing temperatures may accompany the heavy snow forecast, with the temperature in Seoul reaching minus 7.7 C at 5 a.m. Temperatures in most parts of the country, except for Jeju Island, reached between minus 9.5 C and minus 3.4 C. (Yonhap)