 Sapporo is one of few metropolises in the world with such heavy snowfall, enabling it to hold events and festivals with snow statues.The heavy snowfall is due to the Siberian High developing over the Eurasian land mass and the Aleutian Low developing over the northern Pacific Ocean, resulting in a flow of cold air southeastward across Tsushima Current and to western Hokkaido.The city's annual average precipitation is around , and the mean annual temperature is .