By RYO YAMAGISHI/ Staff Writer
December 29, 2020 at 14:35 JST
The transport ministry issued an emergency announcement of heavy snow, expected mainly along the Sea of Japan coast during the year-end and New Year holidays, and urged people in those areas to refrain from venturing out unless it is essential.
It warned Dec. 28 that heavy snowfall could force authorities to close roads to prevent motorists from being stranded in their vehicles and also disrupt public transportation systems, resulting in massive delays and suspended services.
A strong winter-type pressure pattern was forecast from around Dec. 30 through Jan. 1 that will likely dump snow from northern to western Japan, mainly along the Sea of Japan coast, including low-lying areas, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Blizzards and storms may also hit those regions until Dec. 31, it said. The winter pressure system is likely to linger even on Jan. 2 and beyond, bringing more snow to some areas, the agency added.
However, the populous Kanto region, except for mountainous areas in northern Kanto, will likely be spared, according to the agency’s weekly forecast.
Snow was forecast for Nagoya, Osaka, Kagoshima and other areas on Dec. 31, when the strong cold air system is expected to peak.
The agency is calling on people to prepare for heavy snow by Dec. 29. It said snow may accumulate even in low-lying areas along the Pacific coast, which rarely see snowfall.
The expected maximum snowfall for the 24-hour period from noon on Dec. 30 is 60 to 80 centimeters in the Hokuriku region; 50 to 70 cm in the Kinki and Chugoku regions; 40 to 60 cm in the Kanto-Koshin region; 30 to 50 cm in the Tohoku and Tokai regions; 20 to 40 cm in Hokkaido and the northern Kyushu region; and 10 to 20 cm in the Shikoku and southern Kyushu regions.
Heavy snow in mid-December left more than 2,000 motorists stranded on the Kan-etsu Expressway linking Tokyo and Niigata Prefecture. It took more than 48 hours to reopen the expressway to traffic.
“It is crucial to reduce overall traffic volume (in such conditions),” a transport ministry official said. “We are asking people, except for those involved in transporting goods, to avoid (traveling) in heavy snow.”
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A line of stranded vehicles on the Kan-etsu Expressway in Minami-Uonuma, Niigata Prefecture, in the early afternoon of Dec. 18 (Ryo Ikeda)
