Vehicles are stranded in the snow on an express way in Muikamachi, Niigata prefecture, northern Japan, Friday, Dec. 18, 2020. (PHOTO / AP)
TOKYO — Japan's weather agency on Wednesday predicted that the La Nina weather phenomenon will conclude by the end of this winter with weather patterns returning to normal.
There was a 70 percent chance the phenomenon will end by around February, the Japan Meteorological Agency said in its latest preliminary monitoring report.
The sea surface temperature in the monitored area in December last year was 24.4 degrees Celsius
Normal weather patterns are expected to continue in the spring, said the report, citing an 80-percent chance.
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The La Nina weather phenomenon, which causes lower-than-average sea surface temperatures near the equator in the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean, has been occurring since autumn 2021.
The sea surface temperature in the monitored area in December last year was 24.4 degrees Celsius, 0.7 degrees lower than the reference value. Low temperatures in eastern and western Japan and short hours of sunshine in Okinawa and Amami were consistent with the characteristics of the La Nina, the report noted.
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Due to a strong winter pressure pattern, much of the country is expected to experience lower-than-normal temperatures until February this year, while heavy snowfalls have hit multiple regions.