Heavy snow strands 1,000 cars on highway, causes blackouts in Niigata, Gunma

So..... nobody has chimed in yet about "global warming" yet? We hear this chorus every time there is a heat wave of forest fire, but never when there is snow...

Just been reading comments posted by drivers who have been stuck in deep snow for over 17 hours, and are now facing a second night.

Local drivers are angry at thoughtless drivers from outside Yukiguni/Kitaguni who have not heeded the heavy snow warnings, despite similar winter snow jams in the past . No chains, no 'studless' tires, low gas tanks, etc. All it takes is one truck to get stuck, and thousands of vehicles get stopped behind. Snowploughs and tow trucks cannot reach them in the whiteout. People in EVs say that once the battery is flat they have no more heating and the car cannot be moved, becoming an obstacle to others. Comments suggest that Europeans are crazy to force a switchover to EVs without considering weather and natural disasters. Those with ICE engines can run the engine to keep warm, and there is latent heat, if there is enough fuel left, but they need to keep digging snow out and away from the exhaust pipe, to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. One guy said he hadn't allowed himself to sleep at all last night for fear of poisoning by leaking gases

This winter snow came out of nowhere. I love the snow. Hardly see it here in Kobe, port side, but it looks like a snowy winter this year.

This multiday snowfall is the classic "fuyugata kihaichi", west high, east low, and tons of lake-effect snow off the Japan Sea. This particular setup was obvious on both the US weather model (GFS) and the European one (ECM) about a week ago and was a dead cert three or four days out.

I don't know if they had a chain/studless tyre restriction on the highway, but the snow coming was obvious. Every skier would have known it was coming. I'd didn't realize that about EVs, but yes, they are not going to be good cars to get stuck in.

So..... nobody has chimed in yet about "global warming" yet? We hear this chorus every time there is a heat wave of forest fire, but never when there is snow...

Nobody had 'chimed in yet' because you were the first to post.

Soemone always thinks they are clever by trying to claim that a cold day means that there isn't demonstrable climate change. And you want to try and explain it to them, but then you just give up because you realize that they don't have the cpapcaity to grasp something so simple.

This is record breaking snowfall. As in, the most snow ever recorded in Yuzawa, Niigata (within a 24 hour period).

This storm has been predicted for a few days now. I really don't get why people either don't stay at home if they can't handle the conditions (and we all know there are plenty of reasons to be staying at home) or chuck in a set of chains. The basic metal chains are usually only around 10k for most tyre sizes. Get a set and make sure you are familiar with putting them on by having a few practice runs on a warm sunny day, so that you can do it without problems in a snow storm at night. I live up in the snow country and see so many people (inevitably from Tokyo) who turn up in a normal car and get in a world of trouble, and they always have the excuse they they had snow tyres on....

the earth is changing, please prepare yourself!

Yuzawa is about as snowy as it gets, so a 24 hour record for there is massive. 113cm in 24 hours!

Given how hard it must have been snowing at some point to hit those numbers, probably close to 10cm an hour, it's probably time to close that section of the highway. 10cm an hour is about the hardest you'll ever see at a very snowy resort, like the Myoko ones or Nozawa Onsen. Sometimes you need both falling snow and blow-over snow from a mountain to get it coming down that hard.

""According to the police and highway operator East Nippon Expressway Co, a line of cars stretched up to 16.5 kilometers at one point Thursday morning. The congestion was caused after a trailer got stuck in the snow""

Anyone surprised!? this is what happens when you have an expressway exit every 115 to 20km, it's like a death trap.

When I was a child I was very happy to see snow. :‑) But now I hate even the sight of falling snow as I'm an old guy. :‑(

WilliB

So..... nobody has chimed in yet about "global warming" yet? We hear this chorus every time there is a heat wave of forest fire, but never when there is snow...

I guess you still haven't figured out that when the ice melts in your Jack and Coke, it makes it colder.

Large numbers of cars and trucks become stranded on snowy mountain passes in the western US with some regularity. It's practically a ritual for this to happen on a steep freeway pass called The Grapevine in California. The Highway Patrol closes the road but whatever cars are still on the freeway are stuck. This happens with lesser frequency on other major highways. I always bring extra food, water, warm clothing and paper supplies when traveling in the winter for this reason. I have been stuck for hours in the back up on roads that weren't closed but were backed up by the closure of a nearby pass.

As for studded tires I was surprised living in New England to find some states don't allow studs. It damages the roads. Chains restrict you to about 50 kmh and are required in much of the western US when it snows. Highway Patrols set up check points and won't let you pass without them. Naturally a little industry has developed to sell and/or install chains on your car at the Highway Patrol check point.

@ WilliBDec. 17  03:55 pm JST

So..... nobody has chimed in yet about "global warming" yet? We hear this chorus every time there is a heat wave of forest fire, but never when there is snow...

that’s why the name/slogan was changed to Climate change but still the same agenda, population reduction.

that’s why the name/slogan was changed to Climate change but still the same agenda, population reduction.

Fertility rates are well below replacement all across the developed world. Populations are declining already. Climate change has absolutely nothing to do with this. Among developed nations only France has a fertility rate sufficient to maintain its population. The fertility rate in the US is almost as low as that of China, the population of which is peaking now and will decline sharply in the coming decades.

So..... nobody has chimed in yet about "global warming" yet? We hear this chorus every time there is a heat wave of forest fire, but never when there is snow...

Funny how the people who say this when it gets a little cold one day don't say the equivalent when somewhere gets a massive heatwave.

This happens every huge snowfall - negligent truckers racing against time don't have chains or the proper tires and they jackknife blocking the highway. People, watch the weather forecast and plan accordingly.