Grasshopper’s Weekly Japan Forecast – 19th December
Video source: windy.com
Mountainwatch | The Grasshopper
Japan Forecast – A couple of dustings in another relatively slow week ahead
Thursday 19thDecember (Japan Time)
It’s no secret Japan has been slow to click into gear this season and this week will be no different. The further out we look, models keep flaring up low pressure systems, showing big juicy snowfalls, as if reverting back to how things ought to be. But as we creep closer to the time, models realise they’ve been hoodwinked and snap back into reality.
Nonetheless, a few systems will pass over the country this week, delivering 10-15cm to Hokkaido, and 15-25cm on mid-upper slopes of central Honshu where a mix of rain and snow will fall lower down. There is, however, a slight chance that we could see heavier falls over Hokkaido and northern Honshu Monday night, possibly giving us an extra 10-20cm there.
Thursday Dec 19
Right now, it feels a little more like winter should feel – chilly. There are a few minuscule sprinklings on the charts for Hokkaido today, while we might see cloud break up a bit on Honshu as a ridge of high pressure peruses the Island.
Friday, Dec 20
A low-pressure system passes over Honshu and flairs up to the east. Light flurries will get going before dawn on Hokkaido and northern Honshu, as temps remain cold there. Just a few centimeters all up.
Being on the warm side of the low, central Honshu will start out as rain on bottom slopes before colder northerly winds lower snow levels near to village level late in the day while snowfalls peter out. All up we should see 10-15cm accumulate on mid-upper slopes, and only a couple lower down.
Saturday-Sunday, Dec 21-22
There’ll be sunshine on Saturday, especially on Honshu, before a trough drops a tidy 5cm over Hokkaido and northern Honshu from Saturday evening into early Sunday.
Central Honshu will miss out on that goodness, but it’ll cop a few centimetres on mid-upper slopes Sunday night, as a low swings past on the Pacific Side. It’ll mostly fall as rain or wet snow on lower slopes.
Monday-Wednesday, Dec 23-25
Again, we should see some sunshine on Monday as these weather systems are timing themselves nicely to hit after hours. Keeping true to this, the next system should pass over the country Monday night.
Previous model runs showed that this system would pack a punch with heavy snowfalls on northern Honshu and Hokkaido at first. But current models have backed off and are simply picking mostly light snow showers continuing through Tuesday into early Wednesday. This will fall as that same mix of rain and wet snow on lower slopes of central Honshu before colder N-NW winds come through early Tuesday.
That’s all folks. I’m coming at you every Thursday with all the highlights and snowlights for the week, but be sure to check in between times for on-the-ground reports and other great articles.
