The Sea of Japan coast early Tuesday recorded its heaviest snowfall this winter, the Meteorological Agency said.
The agency issued snow and strong wind warnings, saying heavy snow would continue until Wednesday evening in the east of the country and until this morning in the north.
At 9 p.m. Monday, a mass of cold air with a temperature of minus 37.5 crossed Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, at a height of about 5,300 meters, the agency said.
The cold air caused about 50 cm of snow to fall in areas near the border of Gunma and Niigata prefectures during the 12 hours up to 4 a.m. Tuesday, while 30 cm of snow fell along the mountains in Hyogo Prefecture, the agency said.
Avalanche injures four
YAMAGATA (Kyodo) An avalanche hit a group of four workers Tuesday near a power station in Yamagata Prefecture, police said.
All four were found alive about seven hours later. One of them, Takeo Hikita, 51, was confirmed to be in good condition, while the other three -- Yusuke Ito, Noboru Togashi and Kazumi Saito -- were reportedly receiving intensive care.
The workers were inspecting the Tsukinosawa Power Station in the town of Tachikawa, Yamagata Prefecture, when the avalanche hit. The power station is at the foot of Mount Gassan and is operated by Tohoku Electric Power Co.