Temperatures dropped sharply Friday, bringing frost for the first time this fall. Although temperatures have been colder than average for several days, the national weather agency predicted that warmer weather will continue over the weekend and next week.

On Friday morning, colder air flowed from the northwest, lowering the morning temperature across the temperature to between 4 and 14 degrees Celsius, anywhere from 2 to 5 C lower than on the previous day. In particular, morning temperatures were below 5 C in inland and mountainous areas of Gangwon Province, northeastern Gyeonggi Province and northern North Chungcheong Province, and the first frost and first ice of this fall were observed in the Daegwallyeong area of Gangwon Province.

Frost in official meteorological terminology refers to the phenomenon in which water vapor in the atmosphere attaches to the ground or objects in the form of ice crystals. Ice refers to the freezing of water left outdoors. Both phenomena are officially recorded after the agency directly observes them.

Also on Friday, the lowest temperature so far this fall was recorded in various inland areas, including the Daegwallyeong area. In Seoul, the temperature dropped to 9.6 C at 6:41 a.m., which is 3.2 C lower than the lowest temperature in early October last year.

The chillier weather that has hit the country is expected to ease up gradually over the weekend and next week, the Korea Meteorological Administration said during the briefing Friday.

Morning temperatures across the country will gradually rise to between 7 and 17 C on Saturday, while daytime highs will rise to between 20 and 23 C. These ranges are similar to the the average recorded low and high temperature ranges for early October: between 8 and 16 C and between 21 and 24 C, respectively.

Sunday’s temperature is expected to rise 1 to 3 degrees more than Saturday's, with morning lows between 10 and 18 C and daytime highs between 19 and 23 C.

However, the gap between day and nighttime temperatures will be as large as 10 to 15 degrees over the weekend.

Between Saturday afternoon and Sunday, 5 to 20 millimeters of rain will fall on the southern coast and some parts of eastern Gangwon Province, the KMA added.