Vietnam & Asia
Japan now tracks first mountain snow with data
Staff watched 44 mountains by eye until last season. Now Japan's weather agency uses hourly snow estimates instead.
In Japan, the first white snow on a mountain top each season has a special name: the “first snowcap.” The Japan Meteorological Agency, known as JMA, shares this seasonal information about 44 mountains across the country. This season, the agency has started to record the first snowcap in a new way.
Until last season, staff at local weather offices watched each mountain with their own eyes. JMA calls it a snowcap when snow or hail lies near the top and looks white, however little there is. The first day each season that staff could see a snowcap from their office became the mountain's first snowcap. For JMA, a season runs from August 1 to July 31 of the next year.
Word in this story
A careful guess about a number or an amount, made from the information that you have.
The new numbers are estimates of snow depth, and JMA makes them every hour.