Niseko Now: Friday 15th February 2019
- Feb 15, 2019
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 8cm
Snowfall at base this season 885cm
Posted on Friday 15th February 2019 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
It got a bit windy yesterday in the afternoon but as far as I can tell lift operations were mostly unaffected (unconfirmed, but I don't suppose it matters now!).
8cm of snow to report this morning. It's fairly calm and while there is a lot of cloud around there is also some blue sky and sun (increasingly) shining through in places. It should be a good day and I expect everywhere to be open so I'll get this report up quickly.
Clearer skies are still due early in the week along with milder conditions. Hopefully not too much.
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Now that we are in the second half of February - ! - let's take a quick look back.
I have recorded 175cm of snow over the first 14 reports of the month here at base, and the total for the season so far sits at 877cm. Add a chunk to that for what there'll be at higher elevations.
The last day I wasn't able to report any new cm of snowfall was on 30th January, so including today we are now on a run of 16 days of recorded snowfall.
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Niseko Avalanche Report:
Mountain base 6am: -6℃, 4cm snowfall in 12h. Moiwa 800m: -9.6℃, WSW6.4m/s, cornice and snowdrifts developments. Snowdrift developments observed at Mikaeri junction. Annupuri 1120m snow depth 250cm. Hirafu peak: -12℃, NW15m/s, snowdrift developments, W5-8m/s at 1000m. Mizuno no sawa: -10.93℃, W4.9-8.3m/s, 170cm snow depth at base. Suttsu weather station: -2.2℃, 59cm snow depth, NW14m/s at midnight. Kutchan town: -8.4℃, 192cm snow depth. Benkei cape lighthouse: NW13m/s, Kamui cape: WSW10m/s, 1022hPa, 1.8m waves.
Yesterday afternoon’s storm made cornices and snowdrifts develop drastically in slopes above 800m elevation. The storm settled down in the morning. The newly formed snowdrifts are stabilizing and the general avalanche risk is lowering. All gates are scheduled to open from the morning. Please follow the ski patrol’s instructions.
The weather in Niseko is highly influenced by the climate of the Sea of Japan. The snow stabilizes quickly after the wind calms down and distinguished hoar/facet weak layers are less likely to form due to small temperature changes throughout the winter. However everybody shouldn’t forget that Niseko was once the place to experience the most avalanche accidents in Japan. The Niseko Rules and this avalanche information started as a necessity from those bitter experiences and not for tourism promotion. Overconfidence and preconceptions are the main causes of accidents. Have a great day.
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Ski resort operation information: Friday 15th February 2019
Subject to change due to weather conditions
Niseko Grand Hirafu
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 380cm
- Base: 170cm
Ski lifts operating:
- All lifts planning to be operating as normal at the start of the day (Ace Number 1 and King Number 2 lifts rested)
- The Ace Family quad (until 8:30pm), Ace Center 4 quad (8:20pm), Hirafu Gondola (until 8:10pm) and Holiday Number 1 pair (until 8:30pm) lifts are normally open during the evening
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 295cm
- Base: 235cm
Ski lifts operating:
- All lifts planning to be operating as normal at the start of the day
- The Hanazono lifts are normally open until 3:50pm (Number 3 until 3:30pm)
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Niseko Annupuri
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 320cm
- Base: 170cm
Ski lifts operating:
- All lifts planning to be operating as normal at the start of the day
- The Jumbo 1 lift is normally open until 8:30pm during the evening
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Niseko Village
Official snow depth (reported by resort):
- Peak: 320cm
- Base: 170cm
Ski lifts operating:
- All lifts planning to be operating as normal at the start of the day (Country Road lift rested)
- The Upper Village Gondola, Village Express and Banzai Chair lifts are normally open until 8:00pm during the evening
Niseko Now 2018-2019 season |
Data as of Friday 15th February 2019 Total snowfall at base so far 885cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 74 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 32cm (29th December) November 2018 snowfall 84cm reported on 8 days December 2018 snowfall 333cm reported on 26 days January 2019 snowfall 285cm reported on 25 days February 2019 snowfall 183cm reported on 15 days |
All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Kutchan/Niseko. 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.