THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
January 25, 2023 at 12:51 JST
Pedestrians cross a snowy road in Kyoto’s Higashiyama Ward on Jan. 24. (Tatsuo Kanai)
A strong winter pressure pattern brought a dumping of heavy snow to many areas across Japan and dropped temperatures to their most frigid levels on record.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said its staff observed the first snow of the season in Tokyo on Jan. 24 at 8 p.m., but it came about a month later than expected.
The snow arrived 21 days later than an average year and 29 days later than last winter.
The agency said as of 5 a.m. on Jan. 25, three locations observed record-low temperatures.
Kosa, Kumamoto Prefecture, saw the mercury plunge to minus 9 degrees, while the temperature in Matsuhama, Niigata Prefecture, reached minus 5.6 degrees, as well as minus 3.1 degrees at the Chubu Centrair International Airport in Aichi Prefecture.
Several places notched records for snow.
Maximum snowfall over a 12-hour period hit 74 centimeters in Kaminagata, Okayama Prefecture, 46 cm in Sugadaira, Nagano Prefecture, 6 cm in Wakayama and 4 cm in Kobe, as of 5 a.m. on Jan. 25.
The snow in Tsuyama, Okayama Prefecture, measured a record 44 cm deep, while it was 11 cm deep in Tsu, Mie Prefecture, a record high for January.
Heavy snowfall is expected to continue on the Sea of Japan side from western Japan to northern Japan until Jan. 26.
Heavy snowfall is also expected for some flatlands on the Pacific side.
The JMA has forecast snowfall of up to 80 cm in the Tohoku region, 60 cm in Hokkaido and the Hokuriku region, 50 cm in the Kanto-Koshin and Kinki regions, 40 cm in the Tokai region and 30 cm in the Chugoku region over the 24-hour period until 6 a.m. on Jan. 26.
Heavy snowfall warnings issued for Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture
January 6, 2022
Tokyo dodges snowstorm as mercury fails to dip into freezing
February 14, 2022
Record snowfall covers Hokuriku; JMA warns more on the way
January 8, 2021
Heavy snow forecast to keep disrupting traffic until Dec. 28
December 27, 2021
VOX POPULI: It’s that time of year to confront the frigid enemy of poet Fusei
January 11, 2021
Heavy snowfall forecast for Sea of Japan areas through Feb. 18
February 17, 2022
Stories about memories of cherry blossoms solicited from readers
Cooking experts, chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life.
A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry
A series on the death of a Japanese woman that sparked a debate about criminal justice policy in the United States
A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II
Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors.
