Japan has endured record snowfall since late December on the island of Hokkaido, where there are 6 to 16 feet (2 to 5 meters) of snow from the coast heading to the mountains.
Record snowfall – Deadly in the north
Record snowfalls throughout the week in northern Japan have caused avalanches, leaving more than 80 victims. A snow depth of nearly 10 feet (3 meters) covered prefectures on the coastline of the Sea of Japan, on the northern island of Honshu and Hokkaido.
In Sukayu prefecture (Aomori Prefecture) or Hijiori (Yamagata Prefecture) and Aomori (Honshu), the snowpack is nearly 4 feet high.
The center of Honshu Island, Hyogo Prefecture in the Kyoto area, received 83 inches (2 meters) of snow in 48 hours, completely paralyzing traffic.
That’s almost 7 feet! Seven feet of snow would completely bury the average man. That would indeed stop traffic dead in its tracks.
Some snowdrifts almost 15 meters high
Huge snowdrifts have formed in places, especially in the center of the island of Hokkaido. Some reach almost 15 meters (48.75 ft) high, “equivalent to the height of a 6 storey building.”
(This would be closer to the height of “only” a 5-story building in the U.S. But I still don’t think I’d want to be buried beneath it.)
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