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When it snows on the plains but not in the mountains


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Yesterday it was snowing in Niigata and my area of Niigata prefecture but not in the mountains. I see from the Zao Now report just now that that heavy snow in Yamagata yesterday didn't really make it up to Zao.

 

I believe it's called "satoyuki" (village snow, as opposted to mountain snow), but any weatherheads able to explain why this happens?

 

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Thanks!

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not a "weatherhead" but based on what i learnd in "weather & climate" class in college and an explanation on tenki.jp "satoyuki" occurs when winds collide over a given geographic location thereby creating a shearline. The colliding winds create updraft, and when mixed with cold air precip falls heavily in the form of snow..

 

http://tenki.jp/forecaster/diary/detail-1644.html

 

The surface weather map for the morning of the 17th (see above link) shows a "bulb" in the pressure gradient lines over the Sea of Japan.. pressure gradient lines are an indication of wind flow direction, so the bottom of the "bulb" where you see the pressure gradient lines of either side of the "bulb" snake toward each other is where you would see winds collide.

 

when those pressure gradient lines straigten out, the mechanisms that creates wind collision disipates and what you than get is a steady north-to-south airflow.. with no winds colliding the air flows until it collides with the moutains and that collision with moutains ultimately creates snow for moutains..

 

 

 

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Reminds me of that Alanis Morrisette song...

 

 

It's like Snowowow, in a flat place

It's a free lift pass, when the hill is closed

It's a snow-oh-flake, an yer' stuck at work

And isn't it annoying... don't you think?

 

Or something like that... :-)

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