This image from the Japan Meteorological Agency website shows precipitation over Japan as of 1:15 p.m. on Aug. 20, 2021.

       TOKYO -- Extremely heavy rain and thunderstorms are expected in western and eastern Japan on Aug. 20, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) has announced.

       The agency is calling for people to be on their guard against landslides, inundations in low-lying areas, and the swelling or flooding of rivers. It also called for caution over the possibility of lightning strikes, tornadoes and other extreme weather.

       The JMA said the weather in western and eastern Japan was expected to be extremely unstable due to a combination of a cold air mass over the regions at an altitude of about 6,000 meters with a temperature of minus 6 degrees Celsius or lower, and warm, moist air flowing in from the south.

       Extremely heavy thunderstorms and localized downpours were falling in western Japan, and following earlier heavy rain, the risk of landslides in some areas was extremely high, the agency warned.

       Over the 24-hour period up until 6 a.m. on Aug. 21, the Shikoku region in western Japan was expected to be hit with up to 150 millimeters of rain, while up to 120 mm was expected in the northern Kyushu region, up to 100 mm in the Chugoku region in western Japan and the Tokai region in central Japan, and up to 80 mm in southern Kyushu and western Japan's Kinki region, the JMA said.

       (Mainichi)

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