You've heard of lake-effect snow in the Great Lakes. Check out what a larger sea and bitter cold air helped to generate in parts of Japan.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, 47 inches of snowfall occurred during a 12-hour period on Monday in Obihiro, with blizzard conditions likely across northeast parts of the country. The agency warned residents to be on guard for heavy snow,

Obihiro, Hokkaido, Japan Video Recording Date/Time 4, 2025 Heavy snowfall affected parts of Hokkaido from the night of Monday, February 3, into Tuesday, February 4. The Pacific side of Hokkaido recorded the highest snowfall on record in the country,

The cold air mass is expected to fluctuate in intensity and persist until the weekend, with heavy snow forecast for Hokkaido, Tohoku and Hokuriku later this week.

After almost cancelling a popular annual snow festival due to unseasonable January warmth, record-breaking snowfall has hit Japan’s northern main island of Hokkaido, disrupting traffic, causing airport closures and delaying deliveries.

Record-breaking snowfall fell on Japan’s northern main island of Hokkaido on Tuesday, disrupting traffic, causing airport closures and delaying deliveries.

There’s so much snow on the ground in Hokkaido, Japan, that it’s blocking the doors and windows of homes and businesses on the island in the northern part of the country. Cities like Obihiro and Kushiro are breaking snow records and more snow is on the way.

In Obihiro, a record-breaking snowfall of 129 centimetres (4 feet) was detected on Tuesday. The Japan Meteorological Agency said two powerful low pressure systems are moving on both sides of the Japanese archipelago, sending cold air into the region.