Heavy snow strikes southwest Japan as weather agency issues snowstorm warnings

FUKUOKA — The Japan Meteorological Agency issued snowstorm warnings for ocean areas off the Fukuoka region that includes this southwest Japan city and Hibikinada Sea off Kitakyushu on the morning of Jan. 9, as a cold air mass sweeping over the country brought snow to the northern Kyushu region.

The Fukuoka District Meteorological Observatory warned of strong winds with snow and called for people to be on the lookout for traffic disruptions due to accumulated snow and icy roads.

Starting in the morning, heavy snow fell intermittently in central Fukuoka and people, some with umbrellas, were seen hurrying through the city’s bustling Tenjin district as snow swirled around them.

According to the local meteorological observatory, a cold air mass with temperatures dropping below minus 12 degrees Celsius — the most severe this season — is expected to flow into the northern Kyushu region at an altitude of approximately 1,500 meters through Jan. 10, intensifying the winter pressure pattern. Over the 24-hour period up to 6 a.m. on Jan. 10, the region, excluding Yamaguchi Prefecture, is expected to receive up to 10 centimeters of accumulated snow in mountainous regions and 5 cm on plains.

(Japanese original by Azusa Yamazaki, Kyushu News Department)