A blizzard hammered Northern and Central Japan on Thursday, bringing more snow and sub-zero temperatures to the region, weather Authorities said.
The fresh snowfall pushed the snow accumulation to 239 centimeters in Sukayu in Aomori prefecture and 180 centimeters in Horokanai Town on the island of Hokkaido, the Meteorological Agency said.
The temperature in Nakashibetsu Town on Hokkaido plunged to 26.4 degrees Celsius below zero and 10.4 degrees below freezing in Sapporo, the island’s capital, the agency said.
The storm brought gusts of up to 104.7 kilometers per hour in Erimo Town on Hokkaido and 94.3 kilometers per hour in Esashi Town, the agency said.
The storm also generated waves of up to 6 meters around Hokkaido and the Sea of Japan coast areas and it is expected to continue to do so, broadcaster NHK reported, citing agency officials.
A winter pressure pattern is expected to dump up to 80 centimeters of snow on the coast of the Sea of Japan and up to 60 centimeters in central Japan by Friday evening, the agency said.
The agency is warning of avalanches, heavy snow, high waves and transport disruption.