A cold wave sent temperatures to record lows for December in 60 locations Thursday morning, the weather agency said, warning the cold weather is likely to continue over the weekend.

The mercury fell to minus 28.1 in Taiki in Hokkaido, minus 11.2 in Fukushima Prefecture’s Namie and minus 4.5 in Osaka Prefecture’s Toyonaka, according to the Meteorological Agency.

The Sukayu hot spa area in Aomori Prefecture saw snowfall of 297 cm as of 10 a.m., a new high for the month, up from the previous record of 295 cm logged on Dec. 29, 2005.

The temperature some 1,500 meters above Ishikawa Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast sank to minus 14.5 on Wednesday night, more than 9 degrees lower than the average year, the agency said, adding it is very rare to observe such a strong cold air mass there even in the middle of winter.