Heavy snowfall through Wednesday

A strong cold air mass and a winter pressure pattern will likely bring heavy snow to areas along the Sea of Japan coast through Wednesday.

The Meteorological Agency expects snow to pile up in the northern and western regions for about a week. Weather officials are warning of possible transportation disruptions, power failures, falling trees and avalanches. In the 24 hours through Tuesday evening, up to 70 centimeters of snowfall is expected for the Tohoku and Hokuriku regions and for Niigata Prefecture.