This is a very pretty time of year.
Posted on 03/17/2002 7:14:03 PM PST by altair
Nearly all Japan basking in record temperatures
A record spell of warm weather has spread to nearly all parts of Japan, with temperatures rising to levels usually seen in April, May or early summer, and cherry blossoms are already out in central Tokyo -- the earliest time on record.
Officials at the Japan Meteorological Agency agree that it is rare for such high temperatures to occur across the country.
In the Kanto area, the Somei-Yoshino flowering cherry trees are already in blossom. The agency officially confirmed that the trees were in flower in central Tokyo on Saturday, 12 days earlier than in an average year and the earliest for the district since it began such observations in 1953.
In Tokyo, the day's lowest temperature was 12.3 degrees, warm enough to be a late April day in normal years.
Blossoming Somei-Yoshino trees were seen in Yokohama and elsewhere on Friday, at least 10 days earlier than in previous years.
Meteorologists say they expect the warm spell to continue for at least two more weeks.
According to the meteorological agency, a winter pressure pattern around Japan has weakened since mid-January, making it difficult for cold air to penetrate the Japanese archipelago. The result is a long spell of balmy weather.
This month, a high-pressure system formed over Japan, bringing clear weather to most parts of the country. In Tokyo, the weather was so warm this month that the mercury has only dipped below 10 C on one day.
Flowering cherry trees are not the only plants to bloom early this year.
In Osaka, dandelions were seen as early as Feb. 22, while in the Tohoku region, camellias were in bloom in Sakata, Yamagata Prefecture, on March 11, one month earlier than usual and again the earliest on record.
Stimulated by the warm air, birds and insects are stirring as well.
"Many places are reporting the chirping of nightingales. There have also been sightings of cabbage butterflies," an official at the meteorological agency said.
The Japan Times: March 17, 2002
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This is a very pretty time of year.
Sound the klaxon and begin smashing petroleum powered cars! We must save the Earth!
So I've heard. My mother, who lives in San Luis Obispo, sent me email today complaining about the weather.
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