Up to 10 Centimeters of Snow Forecast to Drop on Tokyo’s 23 Wards

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:16 JST, February 10, 2023

Snow was expected to fall across the Kanto-Koshin region through Saturday. The wintry precipitation has been brought by a low-pressure system passing over the southern part of the Japanese archipelago.

The Japan Meteorological Agency on Friday morning issued a heavy snow warning for Tokyo, except for its islands, and northern and southern Saitama Prefecture. The warning was later lowered to an advisory in Tokyo’s 23 wards. Heavy snow warnings remained in effect for Tokyo’s Tama region and northern and southern Saitama Prefecture.

The 24-hour snowfall to noon Saturday will likely drop up to 10 centimeters in Tokyo’s 23 wards, 12 centimeters in the northern and southern Tama regions and 20 centimeters in the western Tama region, according to the agency.

The agency and the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry on Thursday issued emergency announcements urging people to refrain from nonessential and nonurgent outings, such as by working from home, due to the expected impact on transit systems. They also asked those who must drive to be sure to use winter tires or snow chains.

Entrance exams were held Friday at some universities. The universities asked test-takers to check their websites for possible changes in exam start times due to poor weather and traffic conditions.