Japan recorded a record breaking 54 cm ( 21 inches ) of snowfall in just 24 hours

Sapporo, Japan, recorded a historic 54 cm snowfall in 24 hours during an intense January blizzard fueled by the Okhotsk Low Pressure System, shattering previous monthly records and burying the city under heavy drifts that disrupted flights, trains, and highways across Hokkaido.

Winds reached 106 km/h amid rapid accumulation—13 cm in Sapporo from noon to evening alone—stranding passengers at New Chitose Airport, causing power outages for thousands, and prompting emergency snow removal; nearby Suttsu hit 50 cm with 21 cm in three hours, the worst since 1999.