Photo/Illutration The depth of snow has been more than three times the average in Aomori. (Tadayuki Ito)

AOMORI—Heavy snow has blanketed the northernmost prefecture on the main island of Honshu, disrupting public transportation and leading to the deaths of two men.

Aomori Governor Soichiro Miyashita has described the snowfall since the end of last year as a “disaster.”

At one point, the accumulated snow was more than three times as deep as in the average year at many locations, particularly in the western Tsugaru area.

As of 4 p.m. on Jan. 6, the depth of snow was 111 centimeters in the central part of Aomori, the prefectural capital, 178 percent higher than the average, and 374 cm in the city’s mountainous Sukayu district, 81 percent more, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Two men, both in their 70s, died and 12 others were injured while removing snow from rooftops and other places between late December and early January.

Snow continued to affect train operations on Jan. 6, the first business day of the year at many local governments and companies.

The JR Tsugaru Line was closed between Aomori and Kanita stations on Jan. 5-6, while services were partially suspended on the JR Ou Line, the JR Ominato Line and the Aoimori Railway Line.

Twenty-seven flights have also recently been scrapped due to snow.

Hirosaki city closed off a large part of Hirosaki Park after snow brought down pine and cherry trees. City officials warned that more trees could fall.

At a news conference on Jan. 6, Miyashita called on residents to prepare for more snow in the coming weeks.

“Snow falls most from the end of January to the middle and latter parts of February,” he said. “We want people to take substantive safety measures.”

In Aomori, the amount of snowfall has recently increased due to the formation of local snow clouds.

The daily high fell to minus 1.9 degrees on Jan. 3.

According to the JMA, a cold air mass of minus 6 degrees is expected to cover the Japanese archipelago at an altitude of 1,500 meters until around Jan. 10.

It could bring heavy snow not only to the Sea of Japan side of the Tohoku and Hokuriku regions but also to the Shikoku and Kyushu regions in western Japan.

“Toward the weekend, snow could fall where it normally does not,” an agency official said.

(This article was compiled from reports by Ryoji Koko and Shoko Rikimaru.)

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