People with umbrellas walk in the snow in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward on March 19, 2025. (Mainichi/Tatsuro Tamaki)
TOKYO — The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) is urging caution regarding roads freezing over and traffic disruptions due to potential snow accumulation in the plains of the southern Kanto region including Tokyo’s 23 special wards by the evening of March 19.
Due to the influence of a developing low-pressure system and cold air flowing in, heavy snowfall occurred primarily in the mountainous areas of the Kanto-Koshin region on the morning of March 19, with snow falling even in central Tokyo.
According to the JMA, heavy snowfalls were observed in the past six hours up to 9 a.m. in some areas including the town of Kusatsu, Gunma Prefecture, recording as much as 23 centimeters, the city of Ueda, Nagano Prefecture, up to 21 cm, and the town of Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, with 18 cm at most. In the southern Kanto region, the drop in temperatures caused rain to turn into snow, with the Saitama Prefecture city of Chichibu observing 6 cm.
The snow forecast for the 24-hour period until 6 a.m. on March 20 predicts up to 30 cm in the southern part of the Pacific Ocean side of the Tohoku region and 25 cm in the northern Kanto region. Within Tokyo, the forecast includes 5 cm in the western Tama area, 3 cm in northern and southern Tama, and 1 cm in the 23 wards.
(Japanese original by Ei Okada, Digital News Group)
AloJapan.com