Seoul residents battled through the heaviest snowfall recorded for December since 1981, with more than 10 centimeters of snow dumped Saturday, as the country braces for snow and rain expected ahead of the new year, Report informs referring to Yonhap.

A heavy snow advisory was in effect for the entire capital, parts of Gyeonggi Province and the eastern province of Gangwon earlier in the day, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration.

As of 4 p.m., the advisory was lifted in all of Seoul but remained in effect for most parts of Gangwon, with up to 1 to 4 centimeters of snowfall per hour pounding the inland and mountainous areas of the province.

The advisory is given when the snowfall is expected to reach 5 centimeters or more within 24 hours.

Seoul saw its heaviest December snowfall of 12.2 cm since 1981, in terms of the maximum depth of newly fallen snow. On December 19, 1981, Seoul recorded an all-time December high of 18.3 cm.