By HIDEMASA YOSHIZAWA/ Staff Writer
March 15, 2022 at 18:00 JST
Accumulated snow on the roofs of houses in Itoigawa, Niigata Prefecture, on Feb. 24 (Hidehito Matsumoto)
This winter was colder than usual in eastern and western Japan due in part to westerly winds snaking in a southward direction, making it easier for cold air to flow into the country, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
The JMA said March 14 that 12 of 331 observation points across the nation logged record levels of accumulated snow.
Its panel of experts also attributed the snaking westerlies to the La Nina oceanic and atmospheric phenomenon.
According to the JMA, the average temperature between last December and February was 0.5 degree lower than in an average year in eastern and western Japan.
This winter was colder than a normal year for the first time in four years since the period between December 2017 and the following February.
Japan experienced record-setting heavy snow mainly in areas in the Sea of Japan side of the country. The town of Tsunan in Niigata Prefecture had the most accumulated snow on record at 419 centimeters.
According to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, 93 people were killed in avalanches and other snow-related accidents in 12 prefectures from November 2021 through the end of February.
Of those deaths, 71 occurred during snow removal work, such as clearing snow from the roofs of homes.
According to the weather panel, particularly strong cold air was pushed out from around the North Pole area on four occasions, which triggered heavier snowfall in areas in the Sea of Japan side, adding to the misery already caused by cold air entering the Japanese archipelago due to the snaking westerlies.
The meandering westerlies are believed to have been partly caused by the effects of La Nina, the colder counterpart of El Nino, that became continuously noticeable from last fall.
“(This winter’s weather) might not be categorized as extreme weather, but it was continuously cold and had a huge impact on people’s lives, mainly in areas in the Sea of Japan side,” said Hisashi Nakamura, the panel chief and the University of Tokyo’s Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology.
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