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

The Meteorological Agency expects snow to pile up in northern and western regions for about a week.

During a 3-hour period until 6 p.m. on Monday, around 10 centimeters of snow fell in parts of Niigata, Aomori and Nagano prefectures.

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. Up to 50 centimeters is expected for the Kanto-Koshin region and Gifu Prefecture, while 40 centimeters is forecast for the Kinki region.

A cold wave earlier this month has already caused more snow to accumulate than usual, mainly in mountainous areas.

Weather officials are warning of possible transportation disruptions, as well as power failures, falling trees and avalanches.