Monday, November 26, 2012

WINTER IS...

...officially here, I think we can fairly say. You don't wake up with a bit of frost here in Akita, you go to bed with a routine squall warning and wake up to find the rain has gone chunky-fiesta style and your friends are bragging about the first winter snowballs on Facebook. Here's the first dusting of snow that stuck in the courtyard at Higashi. An early preview of coming attractions? I hear the Weather Ministry has reversed its earlier, optimistic almanac, and is warning us all to bundle up...

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3 comments:

  1. Uncle DavidNovember 30, 2012 at 1:55 PM

    I have a weather widget for Oga on my desktop. I have noticed several times that it has been showing snow while the temperature has been above 32F. I assume that the snow comes from colder upper altitudes, but has it been melting on contact?

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  2. -DDecember 5, 2012 at 6:49 PM

    Yes, it falls as heavy, goopy slush mixed with little tiny freezing rain pellets the size of #9 shot. Just yet it only sticks around long enough for me to have to get it off my car in the mornings, but at least it still disappears! Pretty grim-- hilariously fellow ALT and Australian snow naif Stephanie keeps declaring herself disappointed every time it melts. This morning the wind is furious, too-- I hear they've shut down trains along the whole west coast from my friends on Facebook.

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  3. -DDecember 5, 2012 at 6:57 PM

    For your weather-related enjoyment, readers: radar and precipitation conditions maps from the Japan Meteorological Agency. With snazzy animations:

    http://www.jma.go.jp/en/radame/index.html?areaCode=204

    http://www.jma.go.jp/en/radnowc/index.html?areaCode=204

    And a brief forecast chart for my area:

    http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=39.886818,139.847558

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