A Survey of Snowfall Distribution across the Backbone of Tohoku

Abstract

From the survey along the national highway, Route 48 (Fig. 1) from the Pacific Coast to the Yamagata Basin, following two patterns of snowfall distribution are obtained (Fig. 2) ; 1) On the day after the strong winter monsoon (6th. Mar. 1970), there was a sharp peak in the snowfall distribution around the ridge of the Backbone Range, and the snow decreased rapidly towards the east; 2) On the day with deep snow in the Pacific coastal area (26th. Feb 1970), thera was not so large difference of snow depth among the survey route, and the deepest snow was seen on the eastern foot of the Backbone Range.