Heavy snow warnings issued for Tokyo

It was a white Valentine's Day in Tokyo as the nation's capital got hit by heavy snows on Friday (February 14), only a week after a similar blizzard paralysed Tokyo.

Traffic was snarled throughout much of the greater metropolis forcing many office workers to head home before the colder weather saw the heavy snows accumulate in drifts.

Air travel was also affected, with over 150 flights cancelled as planes were grounded, mostly domestic flights at Haneda airport.

Many other parts of the country have also seen heavy snows through out the day, with some parts further out of town recording 50 centimeters (19 inches) of snow.

As the snow intensifies over night, Tokyo is expected to get around 15 centimeters (6 inches) overnight although rain in the early hours of Saturday is expected to melt it away before daybreak.