Late Snow on Japan’s Mount Fuji Sets a Record

A national symbol of Japan, the respected Mount Fuji usually has a cap of snow by early October. This year, weather experts said snowfall on the top of the mountain took place later than it has since records have been kept.

Last year, snow covered the top of the mountain on October 5. But this year, the first snowfall was on November 6, making this year's snowcap the latest to form since 1894 when records started.

The Kofu weather station declares the news every year. Officials at the Kofu observatory confirmed snow near the 3,776-meter top of the country's tallest volcano.

The office explained that the "first snowfall" on Mount Fuji is the point when the observatory staff can see that all or part of the mountain is covered with snow for the first time after summer.

Mamoru Matsumoto is an official of the Kofu observatory office. He said that Mount Fuji's first snowfall has been delayed in recent years although the reasons are still unclear.

"I feel relieved to finally see the snow," he added.

"The temperature at the Fuji summit has been high since October, so I could foresee quite a big delay in the snowfall, which was giving me an uneasy feeling."

Unusually warm weather prevented rainfall from turning to snow this October. The average temperature on the mountain's peak reached a record of 1.6 degrees Celsius compared to the October average of -2 degrees Celsius, official data showed.

Maria Gabriel, a visitor from Texas, came to Japan with plans to see the sacred mountain. She told Reuters, "It's beautiful with the snow, and that was kind of what our expectations were coming (to Japan)," she said, adding that the mountain's snowcapped image was famous worldwide.

I'm Jill Robbins.

Tom Bateman and Mariko Katsumura reported this story for Reuters. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English.

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symbol – n. an action, object, event, or the like, that expresses or represents a particular idea or quality

cap – n. a covering placed on the top of something

staff – n. regular workers in an office

relieved – adj. feeling relaxed and happy because something difficult or unpleasant has been stopped, avoided, or made easier

peak – n. the high point of something tall, especially a mountain