Record rainfall. Snow reaches their waist

Extreme weather conditions were brought by a low pressure system, which dragged the mass of cold air over Japan. This caused cooling and intensive rainfall on the area along the coast of the Japanese Sea. The inhabitants of the city of Obihiro in the south of the island of Hokkaido woke up on Tuesday morning under a 120 cm thick snow, which fell in just 12 hours. According to local media, it is the greatest snowfall in the history of measurements.

On the night of Monday to Tuesday, more than 100 centimeters of snow fell on the island of Hokkaido. Precipitation forced the closing of some national roads, canceling trains and buses. All flights were canceled on two of four airports in the region. Many cities from north to the western part of Japan were covered with snowstorms. Meteorologists appealed to giving up unnecessary travels because the conditions on the road are extremely difficult.

Only 250 plows went to the streets of the city of Obihiro, which – as the Japanese NHK sender points out – do not keep up with snow removal. The city authorities appealed that the inhabitants would remain at home, especially since the snow was falling again in the morning. The local media announced that the roof of the training pitch of one of the schools collapsed under the weight of snow. There is no information about the victims. 379 schools were closed in 44 towns throughout Hokkaido island. The Japanese post suspended operations in 104 facilities. Some stores and service outlets were also closed. Thin layers of snow also accumulated on the island of Kyusia, in southwestern Japan, where snow is usually not recorded.

The influx of cold air masses also caused a lot of cooling, especially in mountainous areas. Although the temperature oscillates around zero in the lowlands, at an altitude of about 1500 m, the abovementioned above is -15 degrees Celsius, and high in the mountains even -36 degrees C. According to forecasts, the front will bring more portions of snow in the following hours. In the regions of Tohoku, Hokuriku can fall about 70 cm of white fluff, and in Hokkaido, Kinki and Chugoku – about half a meter.

'”The peak of this cold wave will take place around February 6 (Thursday), and snowfall will get worse in a large area on the Japanese sea side. In a short time the amount of snow will increase drastically, so be careful so as not to get stuck on the road,” Weathernews warned .

Meteorologists also warn against increasing wind. Long -term forecasts indicate that it will not leave Japan for a moment. At the weekend, more masses of cold air are to flow over the country. In many places, especially on the west side of Japan, there will be snowstorms. Thermometers can show up to -15 degrees Celsius.