Warnings of an intense increase in snow had been issued for Ishikawa and Shiga prefectures as of Thursday, with much of the rest of the country continuing to see widespread snowfall.
The Japan Meteorological Agency had issued a ¡°weather notification regarding significant heavy snow¡± for Ishikawa and Shiga prefectures, given the level of snowfall between Wednesday night and Thursday ¡ª a level of warning made only when the amount of snowfall ramps up intensely over a short period of time, heightening the threat of a major incident happening as a result.
The amount of snow that triggers such a warning is based on the conditions under which traffic incidents have occurred in the past, and varies from region to region.
Around 20 centimeters of snow fell in the span of six hours in the city of Kanazawa, in Ishikawa Prefecture, on Wednesday night, while in the city of Hikone, in Shiga Prefecture, 29 cm fell in the same period on Thursday morning.
In other areas, as of 5 a.m. on Thursday, 68 cm of snow had been observed in the preceding 24 hours in the city of Tokamachi, in Niigata Prefecture. Other areas of Niigata, as well as parts of Yamagata and Nagano, saw snowfall of over 50 cm in the preceding 24-hour period.
The deepest snow accumulation was seen at the Sukayu observation point in Aomori Prefecture, where 4.37 meters of snow had been recorded as of 4 p.m. on Thursday.
Warnings over intense snowfall have been issued by the weather agency for Fukui, Shiga, Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures as of around 5 p.m. on Thursday. Advisories ¡ª one level below a warning ¡ª have been issued for 11 other prefectures, including Hokkaido and Tottori Prefecture.
Around 80 cm of snowfall is forecast in mountainous areas of Niigata and Ishikawa prefectures in the 24 hours from noon Thursday to midday Friday. In Niigata, another 70 cm is anticipated in both the mountainous areas and plains in the 24 hours from noon Friday, while in Ishikawa Prefecture another 50 cm is expected.
The weather agency announced earlier this week that a cold front of an intensity typically seen only once in several years would most likely traverse the country between Wednesday and Friday.
It is thought that the Japan sea Polar air mass Convergence Zone (JPCZ) ¡ª an area over the Sea of Japan where various air flows converge and clouds heavy with ice crystals accumulate ¡ª is bringing intense snow to regions of the country near the Sea of Japan.
The weather agency is calling on residents in the areas to stay alert for traffic incidents as a result of the intense weather conditions, and to refrain from nonessential outings to stay safe, as well as preparing for possible power outages.
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