Heavy snow caused by a cold air mass continued to fall Tuesday, mainly in areas along the Sea of Japan coast, disrupting rail, road and air traffic.
The Meteorological Agency said heavy snow was expected to continue falling in these areas until this morning and warned of possible avalanches. As of 3 p.m. Tuesday, snow was 2.81 meters deep in the village of Okura, Yamagata Prefecture, and 2.52 meters deep in the town of Tsunan, Niigata Prefecture, local weathermen reported.
In Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, the snow reached a depth of 80 cm by 3 p.m., the heaviest since the 113-cm accumulation of 1986.
Between 60 cm and 80 cm of snow was expected to fall by this morning in mountainous areas of the Hokuriku region, while 40 cm to 60 cm was expected on the plains, in the northern part of the Kinki region and in mountainous areas of the Tokai region.
According to the agency, some 20 cm to 40 cm of snow may fall in the Tohoku region, mountainous areas of the Sanin region, the northern Kanto region and the Koshin region.
Some 10 cm to 20 cm of snow was forecast for northern Kyushu and mountainous areas of Shikoku.
The snow caused the cancellation of about 140 trains, including 46 special express trains on the Japan Railway Hokuriku Line. It also delayed bullet trains and other trains on the JR Tokaido Line by up to 30 minutes.
All flights to and from Komatsu airport in Ishikawa Prefecture were canceled due to the snow, while a number of highways, including the Kyushu and Hokuriku expressways, were partially closed.
The agency said the snow was expected to ease this morning but may start falling heavily again in the evening.