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| Japan's record snowfall still not the deepest ever | Japan's record snowfall still not the deepest ever |
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| This is proving a freakish year for weather, but Japan is having an odder time of it than most. The country has had a record winter for snow, and northern Japan is currently coated by unprecedented volumes of the white stuff – more than five metres at higher altitudes, with houses turned into igloos and roads into snow tunnels. | This is proving a freakish year for weather, but Japan is having an odder time of it than most. The country has had a record winter for snow, and northern Japan is currently coated by unprecedented volumes of the white stuff – more than five metres at higher altitudes, with houses turned into igloos and roads into snow tunnels. |
| In the Hakkoda mountains the depth of snow has been measured at 5.61 metres – a record for Japan. Even lower down, in the city of Aomori, snow is standing at almost 1.5 metres and bulldozers are having to work round the clock. | In the Hakkoda mountains the depth of snow has been measured at 5.61 metres – a record for Japan. Even lower down, in the city of Aomori, snow is standing at almost 1.5 metres and bulldozers are having to work round the clock. |
| This has also been a record year for snow in parts of Russia – a couple of weeks ago snowpiles of more than five metres caused gridlock in Moscow – and Switzerland, too, has been experiencing dramatic snowfalls, with depths of up to three metres. | This has also been a record year for snow in parts of Russia – a couple of weeks ago snowpiles of more than five metres caused gridlock in Moscow – and Switzerland, too, has been experiencing dramatic snowfalls, with depths of up to three metres. |
| These snowfalls, especially those in northern Japan, are remarkable by any standards. But they still fall well short of the all-time record-breakers. Tamarack in California claims the record for the deepest snow ever recorded: 11.5 metres on 11 March 1911. That was clearly some year in the Sierra Nevada, as Tamarack also recorded the largest snowfall in a single month in the US: almost 10 metres. | These snowfalls, especially those in northern Japan, are remarkable by any standards. But they still fall well short of the all-time record-breakers. Tamarack in California claims the record for the deepest snow ever recorded: 11.5 metres on 11 March 1911. That was clearly some year in the Sierra Nevada, as Tamarack also recorded the largest snowfall in a single month in the US: almost 10 metres. |
| The ski resort of Mount Baker in Washington State had more than 30 metres of snow in the 1998-99 season, and almost eight metres in one month alone. Mt Fidelity in Canada gets almost 15 metres of snow a year, and the town of Stewart in British Columbia gets an average of almost six metres. | The ski resort of Mount Baker in Washington State had more than 30 metres of snow in the 1998-99 season, and almost eight metres in one month alone. Mt Fidelity in Canada gets almost 15 metres of snow a year, and the town of Stewart in British Columbia gets an average of almost six metres. |
| The deepest snow ever recorded in the UK was in the Forest of Teesdale in County Durham during the great freeze of 1947: 2.1 metres. In towns, the greatest depth recorded is 1.65 metres – at Ruthin in north-east Wales in March 1947, and Tredegar in south Wales in February 1963. Whether any attempt was made to keep trains running and schools open is not recorded. | The deepest snow ever recorded in the UK was in the Forest of Teesdale in County Durham during the great freeze of 1947: 2.1 metres. In towns, the greatest depth recorded is 1.65 metres – at Ruthin in north-east Wales in March 1947, and Tredegar in south Wales in February 1963. Whether any attempt was made to keep trains running and schools open is not recorded. |
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