Sign up for the Morning Brief email newsletter to get weekday updates from The Weather Channel and our meteorologists.Without the images, it might be hard to wrap your mind around the amount of snow blanketing the island of Hokkaido in northern Japan.

The cold air mass is expected to fluctuate in intensity and persist until the weekend, with heavy snow forecast for Hokkaido, Tohoku and Hokuriku later this week.

Weather officials say a low pressure system and moist air caused record snowfall in Obihiro City in Hokkaido, northern Japan, from late Monday through Tuesday morning.

Record-breaking snowfall fell on Japan’s northern main island of Hokkaido on Tuesday, disrupting traffic, causing airport closures and delaying deliveries

After almost cancelling a popular annual snow festival due to unseasonable January warmth, record-breaking snowfall has hit Japan’s northern main island of Hokkaido, disrupting traffic, causing airport closures and delaying deliveries.

Record-breaking snowfall fell on Japan 's northern main island of Hokkaido, disrupting traffic, causing airport closures and delaying deliveries on Tuesday.

An area of low pressure over the main island of Hokkaido in northern Japan caused record amounts of snow to fall in the region. There were considerable traffic disruptions and dozens of flight cancellations.

Obihiro city in Hokkaido records 1.2 metres of snow in 12 hours, weather officials say. Video credit: saron17 via Instagram

Heavy snowfall affected parts of Hokkaido from the night of Monday, February 3, into Tuesday, February 4. The Pacific side of Hokkaido recorded the highest snowfall on record in the country, with Obihiro receiving 120 centimeters of snow in just 12 hours on Tuesday.