Furano Now: Thursday 25th May 2017
- May 25, 2017
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Furano region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 0cm
Snowfall at base this season 636cm
Posted on Thursday 25th May 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Furano Now report can be found here.
Now that the season is over it has given me time to reflect and sum up how things panned out in 2016/17.
The total snowfall for the season was 636cm measured by me in the Kitanomine village area. This amount includes snowfalls prior to the ski area opening and is broken down by month as follows:
November 110cm
December 178cm
January 126cm
February 132cm
March 73cm
April 17cm
Comparing this to last season 2015/16 winter there was a total snowfall of 835cm with the monthly figures as follows:
November 77cm
December 295cm
January 187cm
February 178cm
March 83cm
April 0cm
Over the last 5 seasons the historical snowfalls are:
2016/17 636cm
2015/16 835cm
2014/15 390cm
2013/14 591cm
2012/13 751cm
Now what this means is that in terms of snowfall 2016/17 was average, while the previous season 2015/16 was exceptional with 2 meters more snowfall. However general numbers alone do not really show the full picture. Notably there were heavy snowfalls in November 2016, and these snowfalls were predominantly wetter heavier snow than what Furano usually gets, even early season. The combination of snow with a heavy moisture content, and a lot of snow, meant that the base bulked up very quickly early season covering up debris and smoothing out the natural dips in the mountain. For me November and December 2016 was the best skiing in those months that I have experienced in 10 years on Furano.
Some will describe January and February 2017 as great, while others describe those months as ones they would rather not remember. Looking into this a bit closer, the amount of snow in those months was not spread evenly over the whole month. For example there was a total snowfall in January of 126cm, but 87cm of that total fell between January 23rd-30th over an 8 day period. Moreover, between 1st-9th January 11cm fell and between 13th-22nd January just 2cm of snow was recorded! So indeed if you were on your ski holiday January 1st-9th or 13th-22nd you certainly may have been wondering where all the famous Japanese powder and consistent snow was. Whereas if you were here for a week January 23th-30th you would have been raving about the conditions.
For February, the snow was also very unevenly spread over the month. The total monthly snowfall was 132cm with the following dates producing most of that snow: February 1st-5th - 34cm, February 18th-19th - 32cm and February 24th-26th - 40cm. There was a long stretch from February 6th-17th where I only observed 4cm of snowfall. 4cm!!!
Certainly in Furano the pattern of snowfall in January and February was not what we would normally expect, but for those that were here for the season there were certainly many epic days. March and April turned out to be very good with cooler temperatures and plenty of overcast days meaning that the snow stayed pretty firm and didn’t go as slushy as it might have. In fact, when I reflect back, for me November and December, and then March and April, are the periods that I remember as providing much better than expected snow conditions.
Another point to remember with snowfall stats is that the snow is only one part of the equation. Areas of Honshu this season produced high snowfall numbers but the temperatures often ventured into positive numbers, meaning that the powder was temperature terminated. Whereas in Furano even though there were many stretches in January and February of only slight snowfall, the powder stayed powder for days on end due to consistently sub-zero temperatures during the day.
So to sum up the season through my eyes - an average, but not bad season for total snowfall. Excellent snow conditions early and late season November, December, March and April. An unusual snowfall pattern in January and February leading to short periods with very good snowfall - and other periods with very little.
In a good season or bad season the consistent cold sub-zero temperatures mean that it is likely you will be skiing powder on Furano even if it hasn’t snowed for a few days.
The Kitanomine Gondola will be opening over the summer for sightseeing.
It will be operating from Saturday 1st July until Sunday 27th August, from 6am until 8pm.
That's all from me for a while… I’ll be back posting Furano Now reports in the run up to winter 2017/18.
Until then I intend to make the most of the warm weather and non-white scenery.
Furano Now 2016-2017 season |
Data as of Thursday 25th May 2017 Total snowfall at base 636cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 89 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 32cm (8th November) November 2016 snowfall 110cm reported on 19 days December 2016 snowfall 178cm reported on 20 days January 2017 snowfall 126cm reported on 15 day February 2017 snowfall 132cm reported on 16 days March 2017 snowfall 73cm reported on 13 days April 2017 snowfall 17cm reported on 6 days May 2017 snowfall 0cm |
All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Furano. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report.