Record low temperatures, heavy snowfall observed across Japan
Baku, January 17 (AZERTAC). A cold air mass caused heavy snowfall across Japan on Sunday, with temperatures dropping to record lows in some parts of the country, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
The weather agency warned of strong winds, heavy snow and high waves across a wide range of areas, particularly in northeastern Japan, through Monday as a strong cold air mass and wintry pressure pattern continues to hover around the archipelago.
Light snow was also seen Sunday in the mountains on Amami-Oshima Island, a subtropical island in southern Kagoshima Prefecture, where the morning`s minimum temperature was 7 C, the lowest this winter, according to a local meteorological station.
But Sunday`s snowfall will not be officially recorded because snow was not observed at the meteorological station located in the plains. The last recorded snowfall on the island was in 1901, the station said.
Meanwhile, Central Japan Railway Co said bullet trains on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line operated at reduced speeds between Hamamatsu and Shin-Osaka stations due to snow Sunday, resulting in delays of up to around 100 minutes as of 6:30 p.m.
West Japan Railway Co said it had canceled five overnight trains connecting Osaka with Aomori, Niigata and Sapporo due to strong winds and heavy snow.
On Sunday morning, temperatures dropped to as low as minus 8.9 C in the town of Motoyama in Kochi Prefecture, southwestern Japan, minus 7.8 C in Tsushima in Nagasaki Prefecture, southwestern Japan, minus 5.8 C in Ube in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, and minus 4.5 in Kobayashi in the southwestern prefecture of Miyazaki, all record lows.
Hirakawa in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, also marked a record-tying minus 15.6 C, while in metropolitan Tokyo the temperature fell to minus 1.1 C, the first time this season for a low below 0 C.
Meanwhile, snow piled up higher than 3 meters in the Sukayu hot spring area of Aomori, while snow accumulation exceeding 2 meters was seen in some locations in Yamagata, Niigata and Tottori prefectures.
Accumulated snow amounted to 192 centimeters in the town of Kitahiroshima in Hiroshima Prefecture and 126 cm in Maniwa, Okayama Prefecture, both record highs for the locations in western Japan.
The weather agency warned of more snow in a wide range of areas, with 80 cm of snowfall expected in the Tohoku region in northeastern Japan and 70 cm in the Hokuriku region of central Japan facing the Sea of Japan in the 24 hours to Monday afternoon.
The agency expects 60 cm of snow to fall in the Kanto-Koshin region in eastern Japan, 50 cm in Hokkaido and the Tokai region on the Pacific side of central Japan, and 40 cm in the Kinki and Chugoku regions in western Japan.
Extremely strong winds in Sea of Japan coastal regions in central and northern Japan will continue to cause high waves surpassing 6 meters in some areas Monday, the agency said.
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