Weekly wrap-up: Rare snow blankets Tokyo; Tsunami threat rattles Alaska, British Columbia

By Katy Galimberti, AccuWeather staff writer

January 26,2018, 9:40:53AM,EST

A powerful storm unleashed blizzard conditions and over a foot of travel-snarling snow across the midwestern United States this week.

The snowstorm began over the Rockies on Sunday, forcing nearly 200 flights to be canceled at Denver International Airport. The heaviest snow fell along a narrow swath from northwestern Kansas through Nebraska, northwestern Iowa and south-central Minnesota, with widespread totals of 8-14 inches.

Visibility became so poor that the Platte County Highway Department in Nebraska pulled snow removal crews off the roads on Monday morning.

The Minnesota State Patrol reported over 600 crashes and vehicle spin-outs as well as dozens of jackknifed semi-trailers from midnight to 8:45 p.m. CST Monday.

A major winter storm blasted Tokyo this week as 9 inches (23 cm) of snow fell in the city. The storm dropped the most snow the city has seen since 2014. 

A man removes snow at Kanda Myojin shrine in Tokyo Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. Metropolitan areas encountered rare snowfall Monday and many traffic system disrupted due to fallen snow. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

According to NHK News, Tokyo Electric Power Company reported that snow and wind affected electric wires and caused 59,000 household electricity blackouts.

The unusual amount of snow prompted many travel delays, including some road closures, according to Reuters. At Tokyo International Airport, about 250 departing flights were canceled, with at least 21 flights canceled for Tuesday. At Narita International Airport, two runways were closed due to snow.

Snow also caused problems in Switzerland this week where world leaders gathered for the World Economic Forum.

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Many of the 3,000 delegates struggled to get to the resort high in the Alps where the summit was held in Davos, Reuters reported. More than 63 inches (159 cm) of snow fell at the start of the week, according to Swiss officials.

Some early meetings were canceled. Reuters reported business men in suits slipping on ice and trudging through piles of snow to get to their accommodations.

Heavy rain has plagued northern France this weekend and caused the Seine River in Paris to swell out of its banks. 

People walk on the Alma bridge by the Zouave statue which is used as a measuring instrument during floods in Paris, on Thursday, 25 January 2018. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Flooding also inundated roads, railways and walking paths. The Seine River reached 18.3 feet (5.6 meters) on Thursday night.

The Louvre closed its lower section as a precaution. Similar flooding ensued in 2016, forcing workers to evacuate 35,000 pieces of art.

A magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck off the coast of Alaska early Tuesday morning, triggering tsunami warnings from the Aleutian Islands to British Columbia. The West Coast of the United States was also put under alert for potential tsunami waves.

All tsunami watches and warnings were eventually canceled but not before some residents were told to seek higher ground.

A tsunami had been confirmed, but it did not pose any major threat to land.