Warmer temperatures expected in Japan later this week will go a long way towards melting the worst snowstorm in 120 years.  At least eleven people were killed in the weekend storms, with more than 1,000 injured from tip to tip of the main islands.

In Yamanashi Prefecture around Mount Fuji, a record 114 centimeters of snow came down in one event.  Down in Toyko, around 27 centimeters paralyzed the world’s most-populous metropolitian area. 

Hundreds of flights were cancelled at Haneda and Narita International Airports, stranding passengers with nowhere else to go.  Japan Rail delayed or cancelled several bullet train runs as well as local services.  And the roads were a complete mess. 

Usually, Tokyo only sees a dusting or two of snow in a year. And this is Japan’s second major snow storm in February; one last week that resulted in 13 deaths and 1,700 injuries, most of them in traffic accidents.