The year's first strong south winds, signaling the arrival of spring, cut through Tokyo and other parts of Japan on Friday, the weather agency said.

Temperatures rose to 15.2 degrees in Tokyo, 18.8 in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, and 17.8 in Fukuoka, while winds swept through the Kanto, Chugoku and Shikoku regions, as well as northern Kyushu, the Meteorological Agency said.

Central Tokyo clocked maximum wind speeds of about 60 kph.

Compared with last year, the first spring storm came to Shikoku and northern Kyushu 16 days earlier and to Chugoku five days earlier, according to the agency. There was no such storm in Tokyo and other Kanto areas last year.

The agency the same day warned people in Hokkaido and the Tohoku region of possible avalanches as temperatures rose in those areas.

It also said a severe snowstorm may hit the northern part of the country Saturday.