1. Meteorological Satellite Imagery

From January 22 to January 24, 2004, Tohoku and Hokuriku area suffered from heavy snowfall. If you compare satellite images below with images in Heavy Snow in Hokkaido, it is clearly visible that the streaking clouds of this time are distributed along the east-west direction, in comparison with the north-south direction last time. The pattern of this case is known to bring heavy snowfall not only in mountain areas but also in plain areas of Tohoku and Hokuriku regions.

Streaking clouds over the Sea of Japan Visible image : January 22, 2004 0400 UTC

Streaking clouds over the Sea of Japan Visible image : January 23, 2004 0400 UTC

Streaking clouds over the Sea of Japan Visible image : January 24, 2004 0400 UTC