Does it snow where you live?

ENTRY

2026.01.13

カテゴリー：ブログ

Hello everyone,

We`re already halfway through January, so now we`re in the middle of winter. Temperatures are getting lower and there is snow in many parts of Japan. Last week some snow fell in Yokohama and Tokyo, which is quite rare. It almost never snows here in Fuji, but I saw some fall once in my many years here. It didn`t stick on the ground, but I was surprised to see it here. A few years ago, I drove to Fujinomiya to find snow on the ground there. I was shocked to see snow so close to Fuji and I turned the car around and carefully drove home. Although Ireland is further north than Hokkaido, snow is quite rare there, too. Ireland is on the same latitude as the Russian island of Sakhalin, which is north of Hokkaido. So, why does snow fall so rarely compared to Hokkaido. It`s because of the gulf stream, a powerful, warm ocean current originating in the Gulf of Mexico, flowing up the U.S. East Coast and across the Atlantic to Europe, significantly warming climates in North America and Western Europe by acting as a giant oceanic conveyor belt, driven by wind and density differences. If you look at a photo of the Earth in winter, you can see that Ireland and the U.K. are the only place that far north that don`t have snow. It snows once or twice a year in my hometown of Dublin, so I`ve experienced it a few times, but it rarely stays on the ground for long and it never gets thicker than a few centimeters. Personally, I`m glad we don`t have to deal with snow here. It takes a lot of work to shovel the driveways, and slippery roads and paths can be dangerous. I hope the warm spring weather gets here as soon as possible.

Here at Hario we are gearing up for the spring campaign! It`s just over two weeks away, and I`m really looking forward to meeting our new students as they start their English journey with us. See you in February!

-Alan P

みなさん、こんにちは。

アラン・フィリップスです

1月ももう半分が過ぎ、冬の真っただ中ですね。

気温もどんどん下がり、日本各地で雪が降っています。先週は横浜や東京でも雪が降りましたが、これはとても珍しいことです。富士ではほとんど雪が降りませんが、長年住んでいる中で一度だけ雪が舞うのを見たことがあります。地面には積もりませんでしたが、ここで雪を見るとは思わず驚きました。数年前、富士宮まで車で行ったとき、地面に雪が積もっていて本当に驚き、すぐに引き返して慎重に運転して帰りました。

アイルランドは北海道よりも北に位置していますが、雪はとても珍しいです。アイルランドは北海道の北にあるロシアのサハリン島と同じ緯度にあります。それなのに、なぜ北海道ほど雪が降らないのでしょうか。それは「メキシコ湾流」の影響ですメキシコ湾から発生し、アメリカ東海岸を北上して大西洋を渡りヨーロッパへ向かう強力で暖かい海流で、風や海水の密度差によって動く巨大な海のコンベアベルトのような働きをし、北米や西ヨーロッパの気候を大きく温めています。冬の地球の写真を見ると、アイルランドとイギリスだけが、あの緯度で雪がない地域だとわかります。