Photo/Illutration Central Tokyo, where the National Stadium is located, is blanketed in snow on the morning of Jan. 7 after a rare snowstorm on the previous day. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Heavy snow is expected to hit Tokyo’s 23 wards and other areas of the Kanto-Koshin region on Feb. 10 and Feb. 11, and the Japan Meteorological Agency is urging caution against traffic disruptions.

The agency said a low-pressure system that will form off the Tokai region will develop and move eastward on those two days, while a cold air mass is expected to move south toward the Pacific Ocean side of eastern Japan.

These movements will bring snow or rain to large areas of the Kanto-Koshin region. If temperatures drop lower than those forecast, the agency will have to issue heavy snowfall warnings for the areas affected.

For the 24 hours until 6 a.m. on Feb. 11, the agency forecasts: up to 20 to 40 centimeters of snow in the Koshin region; 10 to 20 cm in the northern Kanto region, Hakone in Kanagawa Prefecture, Tokyo’s Tama area and Saitama Prefecture’s Chichibu area; and 5 to 10 cm in the plain areas of the southern Kanto region, including Tokyo’s 23 wards.

Central Tokyo recorded 10 cm of snow on Jan. 6, which hindered traffic on roads, disrupted rail and air services, and led to icy conditions that closed off some sections of the Metropolitan Expressway.

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