The snowfall, which has been increasing for 2 days in Japan’s Hokkaido Prefecture and Northeast Tohoku region, continues to affect life negatively. Local authorities announced that 2 runways at New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido were completely covered with snow and both runways closed to flights. Also, airline companies announced that at least 158 flights were canceled, and warned that number of canceled flights can be increased on the next hours.
In addition, railroad operator Japan Railways (JR) announced that they suspended 950 services, including a limited number of express trains. Meanwhile, Sapporo Station told that train services were temporarily suspended due to heavy snowfall.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) announced that heavy snowfall is expected to continue until Wednesday morning. JMA warned that the snow depth could reach 100 centimeters in Niigata Prefecture, 30 centimeters in Hokkaido Prefecture and 50 centimeters in Hokuriku region. Also, local authorities repeated their urge to residents living in risky areas to avoid non-essential travels.