let's go straight to some video from yam that to and sapporo. midwinter-like cold air is blanketing much of the country, creating blowing snow. this is yam that to where over 100 kilometers fell and gusts and snow are causing difficult driving conditions. warnings are widely posted in northern japan. meanwhile residents in sapporo are dealing with unseasonably cold weather and strong winds. several traffic accidents have been reported because of the icy conditions. now let's go back and take a look at the snow fall total as of tuesday. nearly 35 centimeters or nearly 40 centimeters of snow has fallen over the tohoku region. lots of snow is piling up there. this is called sea-effect snow when cold air moves in from the coast and gets ample moisture over the sea of japan and snow falls from over the western side of the nation. from hokkaido south you receive lots of snow fall during winter. we're expecting an additional 60 or 70 centimeters of snowfall in the tohoku region and over 50 centimeters, up to 50 centimeters in the hokuriku region in par

as you can see, snow will likely continue at least into your sunday in sapporo. tokyo staying sunny. temperatures low in the single digits the first time of the season on your saturday. bundle up. here's the extended forecast. >>> that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo. these are our top stories. outrage spreads in the u.s. as another grand jury decides not to try a white police officer for killing a black suspect. it is once again taking to the streets. can putin's popularity whether the perfect financial storm? the russian president gives a defiant state of the address despite economic turmoil. and mission to mars, the countdown is on to what nasa is handling as the first step in mankind's journey to the red planet as the orion space

sapporo, it's going warm up. rainfall, move back the snow by sunday. another sea effect snow event will work its way in once the low pushes off towards the east. over towards europe now, i want to talk about this storm which is still bringing gusty winds across the british isles to the scandanavian peninsula. reported winds around 80 kilometers, as well as heavy rain coming with this. areas could be damaging. we have seize warnings in place from scotland into the netherlands across northern germany, also, a threat of tornados, believe it or not. a few of them could become quite strong. towards the south, we've seen several waterspouts into parts of greece. a high of 15, some sunny skies here. on your friday. here's your extented outlook. >>> that's all for now on "newsline." thank you for joining us on nhk world. >>> china's economy is slowing. leaders in beijing say get useded to it. back in the driver's seat. >>> and cross border shoppers. we show you why budget carriers are so excited. hello. you're watching "asia biz forecast." i'm yuko fukushima.

we have some video coming out of sapporo. warnings for heavy snow, strong winds, and high rains are posted as wilder weather is expected on wednesday. schools will be closed and about 100 flights from northern japan will be canceled. authorities are advising people to stay on the alert for possible whiteout conditions. now we have a couple of low pressure systems near japan, and these systems will intensify significantly as we go in to wednesday, as they get very close to hokkaido on wednesday. we're expecting gusts of about 1800 kilometers per hour. under such conditions you may not be able to stand without support and heavy rainfall, as well and waves of up to ten meters. strong winds will whip up snow, causing whiteout conditions, blizzard conditions, and causes very low visibility. so we have highly advise you not to go out. but if you must travel, make sure to avoid traveling by yourself, and keep the gas tank near full, and keep winter travel kit, including water and food in case of emergency. the blizzard conditions wi

temperatures will stay on the cold side as we go into saturday in tokyo as well as sapporo.s we go into monday, conditions will slightly improve at 14 degrees for the high in tokyo on your monday. similar conditions for seoul as well as shanghai. temperatures will slowly rise. now, across the americas, we saw some significant rainfall across california on tuesday, but the system is now affecting the mid part of the united states with thunderstorms. this one will continue to creep towards the east as we go into your friday. that will provide heavy rainfall as well as the risk of hail and also snowfall for the mountainous locations. freezing rain is expected for the northeastern corner of the united states. mostly calm over the west on your friday, but another system will be moving into the west. rain is likely to fall from california up towards british columbia. heavy mountain snow once again. temperatures are going to be in the single digits in vancouver with rainy weather on your friday. minus 10 degrees in winnipeg. single digits for you and rainy weather in new york city

sapporo, snow on friday. it's going to warm up on saturday.'re expecting some rainfall to move back the snow by sunday 37 and actually another sea effect snow event will work its way in once that low does push off there toward the east. let's move over toward europe now. i want to talk about this storm which is still bringing gusty winds across the british isles, scandinavian peninsula. parts of germany as well. you've reported winds around 80 kilometers per hour as well as heavy rain coming with this. you're still going to be seeing gusty winds and heavy rain. in some places it can be damaging. you have these warnings in place for strong wind gusts from scotland to the netherlands and across southern germany. also there's a threat of tornadoes, believe it or not. a few of them could be quite strong. even farther toward the south we've seen several water spouts reported out there into parts of greece. at least for now. athens, you had a high of 15 and some sunny skies here on your friday. here's your extended outlook. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> and that'

and we are looking at the setup of moisture along with the cold air, to still be in place from sapporo down into niigata. you will see the possibility of seeing some more snowfall. not nearly as much as what we saw this weekend. but, the snow possibilities do remain to tuesday. then by wednesday, high pressure from the northwest will move in, and that will start to not only clear the skies, but present an opportunity for some melting on the ground for the rest of the week. now we're talking about a very different weather scenario down toward the philippines, as we are continuing to monitor a tropical system. this is severe tropical storm hagupit, as it is now stalled over the northern philippines. it will continue to dump a lot of moisture already having problems with road blockages because of mudslides, flash flooding, all of these factors will continue to be compounded as the system continues to linger over the area. it is weakening. it will whoever over the tropical storm, severe tropical storm status for the next couple of days and then will move out to sea. but again, this slow-mo