Photo/Illutration The map shows differences from conventional years’ normal lows at 2 p.m. on Oct. 6. The chart shows the day’s temperatures were lower than normal in wide areas from the Kanto-Koshin region to western Japan. (From the website of the Japan Meteorological Agency)

The three-day weekend starting on Oct. 7 will be chillier than usual in many areas of the country due to cold winds blowing in from the east, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The forecast follows cold temperatures over a wide area on the morning of Oct. 6.

Agency officials are asking people to prepare proper clothing and bedding for the sudden change from the summer heat that lingered into autumn.

At 6 a.m. on Oct. 6, Minamimaki village in Nagano Prefecture recorded a temperature of 0.2 degree below zero, the first sub-zero weather of the season at observation points across the country, with the exception of Mount Fuji.

The daily lows on Oct. 6 were 15.9 degrees in central Tokyo, 17.0 degrees in Osaka’s Chuo Ward, 13.5 degrees in Nagoya’s Chikusa Ward, and 13.3 degrees in Fukuoka’s Hakata Ward. These temperatures were 1.0 to 3.5 degrees lower than average.

Of the total of 915 observation sites throughout the country, 417 sites in 45 prefectures recorded their coldest temperatures so far for autumn.

According to the agency, a well-developed low pressure system near Hokkaido facilitated the entry of cold air from the Sea of Japan, leading to the low temperatures around the country.

Although a high pressure system is expected to cover many parts of Japan on and after Oct. 7, the weather will likely deteriorate over a wide area due to a frontal system and moist air during the latter half of the consecutive holidays.

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