Japan issues alert for heavy snow

TOKYO: The Japanese weather agency on Friday issued a heavy snow alert for northern Japanese prefectures, as heavy snow continued to hit parts of the country.

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued warnings for several regions in the prefectures including Hokkaido, Niigata, Toyama and Fukui, the second-highest in the country's four-tier warning system for snow.

With the snowfall intensifying, especially in the Hokuriku region and Niigata prefecture, the agency warned of possible traffic disruptions, saying that parts of the Tohoku region along the Sea of Japan are also seeing worsening conditions, said Xinhua.

As of Friday morning, the village of Shirakawa in Gifu prefecture saw 62 centimetres of snow accumulation, while Ono City in Fukui prefecture had 48 centimetres.

Such weather conditions could continue in areas along the Sea of Japan through Saturday, the weather agency added.

Areas like the Chugoku, Kansai and Hokuriku regions may experience even more intense precipitation due to bands of active snow clouds that are predicted to move in intermittently, according to the agency.

-- BERNAMA