The first snow in March 2020

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 It was 29th March when I wake up in the morning and felt unusual chill in the air. When I went outside of my house, I discovered it was snowing.



It was the first snow in the Southern Kanto area in Japan that year. We had no snow in the winter, and I was partly happy and partly sad to see the snow

The Southern Kanto area is one of the warmest areas in Japan, especially the coastal area where I live. The weather is mild, and we rarely have snow in winter. I love seeing snow, as it is not a usual thing to see often in where I live. It is nice to see even some flurry in the morning or late in the evening. It is also nice to see the land covered white, making small white mounds everywhere. Apparently the kids in neighbourhood are excited as well, and it makes me smile to see little snowmen placed on the walls and gates of some houses.

However, snow also means that our infrastructure is not up to the weather, and there is always traffic chaos. To begin with, people can’t walk properly on slippery roads, and many are not equipped with proper shoes or boots to walk on snow. Trains stops, or moves slow. Roads are heavily congested as the drivers are not used to drive on the slippery roads. People line up on a long queues at bus stops in a hope to reach schools and offices as quickly as they can, beating off the chill while they wait.

Luckily, it was Sunday. By evening, the snow melted and mostly disappeared. It was a nice little change to see something which brighten up the day during dull and grey days in March. The weather forecast reported that the last time we had snow in March was 12 years ago. Sadly, I have no memory of back then.

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