First November Snowfall Hits Tokyo After 54 Years (Video)

First Posted: Nov 26, 2016 03:40 AM EST

People in Tokyo were surprised to see snow known as "hatsuyuki" in November in Japan after 54 years. They last saw snow in November 1962. Usually, snow falls in January or February.

Currently, the temperatures in the said region usually range from 10 degrees Celsius to 17 degrees Celsius. It is caused by an unusual cold front over the city. The snow fell on Thursday morning. It is reported that in the suburban areas close to the mountains, snow was heavier and sticking, according to Science Alert.

Cold snap
Incredible！ it is snowing in Tokyo still Venber.
It's a First Fall snow- fall in Tokyo November snow in 54 year#november # pic.twitter.com/HRzlEyQHCy

— miho (@miho2004) November 24, 2016

Sakiko Nishioka, a government agency official, said that today's snowfall and accumulation occurred because several elements came together at once by chance. He further said that it does not mean this can signal any unusual weather conditions this season such as a super cold winter.

Tokyo became a winter wonderland today for just a few hours, First November snow in 54 years for Tokyo, Japan! https://t.co/oTl2lKuZUb — FGTNews (@OfficialFGTNews) November 24, 2016

The temperatures in Tokyo and other neighboring areas fell to near zero on Thursday. This rarely happened in late November. In Nakashibetsu and Hokkaido towns, the mercury hit minus 17.4 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, Tokyo's Edogawa Ward recorded 0.8 Celsius. In Kanto region including Tokyo, the areas were enveloped by a cold air mass with a temperature of minus 3 degrees at a height of around 1,500 meters.

Japan Times reports that the visibility of snow disrupted traffic and caused electricity usage to spike due to heating demand. There were also injuries reported in Tokyo wherein two people slipped on snowy roads and suffered fracture bones. The trains and subway systems in Tokyo experienced delays. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) warned the public of icy roads, snow on electric wires and trees and a collapse of plastic greenhouses.