Jun 15 (NHK) - Japanese weather officials are warning of localized heavy rains in wide areas of western to northeastern Japan by Monday morning.
The meteorological agency says warm, damp air is flowing from the west into a front, causing atmospheric conditions to become unstable over most of the country.
A build-up of thunderclouds has been bringing localized torrential rains. As of 8 p.m. on Sunday, 59 millimeters of rain had been recorded in Ibigawa Town, Gifu Prefecture, and 35 millimeters had been recorded in Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture.
Warnings of potential disasters caused by loose ground have been issued for some areas in the neighboring prefectures of Ishikawa and Toyama.
Weather officials warn that extremely heavy rain of 50 millimeters per hour or more could hit some areas from western to northeastern Japan through early Monday.
The meteorological agency says that in the 24 hours through Monday evening, up to 150 millimeters of precipitation is expected in the southern Kyushu region, 140 millimeters in the Hokuriku region, and 120 millimeters in the Tohoku region.
