Niseko Now: Tuesday 16th February 2021
- Feb 16, 2021
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 6, 2025
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 1cm
Snowfall at base this season 975cm
Posted on Tuesday 16th February 2021 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning.
Though, that doesn't feel particularly appropriate this morning. It isn't very nice outside right now.
How should I describe this morning... It's windy and due to get even more windy. After the rain we have had to put up with, it was kind of rainy sleet earlier on but at least that has turned to snow outside my window right now. It's relatively mild.
And most of the lifts are not opening at the start of the day. Lifts that are open are basically lower lifts close to base: the Ace Family quad lift at Hirafu, the lower Hanazono lift, the Community and Banzai lifts at Village, and the Dream quad at Annupuri. So there are just 5 lifts starting the day.
The good to take from all this is that the snow is back from today, it is going to get colder as the day progresses, and snow should be consistently coming down on us over the coming days. Let's just hope the wind calms down...
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Coastal Data 6:25am. Cape Benkei:NW20m/s. Cape Kamui: WNW9m/s, 971hPa, wave0.7m. Hanazono 1000m: -1.9℃, ESE3.4m/s(5:45am N20m/s). Hanazono 720: 0.9℃, SSE3.2m/s(5:45am N20m/s). Moiwa 800m: -0.3℃, NNW4.7m/s. Annupuri 1100m: -2.3℃, W9.5m/s. Yu no Sawa 1100m: -2.0℃, WSW7.2m/s. Mizuno no Sawa Top: -1.3℃, wind n/a. Kutchan Town: 2.3℃, WSW3.2m/s, snow depth 160cm, 970.3hPa. Moiwa base: +1, heavy rain, snow melt.
Warm air is flowing in with the passing of a 945hPa low pressure system, melting the snow due to heavy rain. Wind and wet snow will start around 7am at the mountain base, breaking out into a full blown blizzard by noon. Snow drifts on leeward slopes will exceed 3m this afternoon, new cornices are expected to reach 10m by tomorrow. Most avalanche accidents are triggered by people, however natural factors like cornice collapse also cause avalanches. March 14, 1965, Satsunai River No 10, Hidaka Mountains, a 20-30m cornice overhanged the ridgeline collapsed due to a similar low pressure system, and caused an avalanche that ran 3km, dropping 800m. 6 people were found deceased sheltering in a buried snow cave at 400m elev. An avalanche is a natural phenomenon and is not an accident if no one is involved. Best to stay out of the valleys until the weather has settled down. Take care on the roads and be careful of snow falling from roofs.
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Planned ski area operations: Tuesday 16th February 2021
The below information is manually checked each morning from official sources.
The numbers in brackets show the change in the official snow depth numbers since the previous report.
Niseko Grand Hirafu
24 hours new snowfall (as reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 5cm
- Base: 0cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 410cm (+5cm)
- Base: 200cm (-15cm)
Ski lifts operating:
- Planned: Ace Family Quad, Ace Quad Center 4, Hirafu Gondola, King Number 3 Quad
- Ace Family Quad and Ace Number 2 Center Four lifts operate for night skiing
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Niseko HANAZONO Resort
24 hours new snowfall (as reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 3cm
- Base: 0cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 280cm (-18cm)
- Base: 190cm (-20cm)
Ski lifts operating:
- Planned: All lifts
- There is no night skiing at Hanazono
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Niseko Annupuri
24 hours new snowfall (as reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 0cm
- Base: 0cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 290cm (+0cm)
- Base: 200cm (+0cm)
Ski lifts operating:
- Planned: Gondola, Dream Number 1 and Jumbo Number 1
- Jumbo Number 1 quad lift operates for night skiing
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Niseko Village
24 hours new snowfall (as reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 0cm
- Base: 0cm
Official snow depth (reported by the ski area):
- Peak: 234cm (+0cm)
- Base: 200cm (+0cm)
Ski lifts operating:
- Planned: Niseko Gondola, Community Chair and Banzai Chair
- Community Chair lift operates for night skiing
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Night time operations are available in the Niseko Grand Hirafu, Niseko Village and Niseko Annupuri areas until 7th March 2021. There is no night skiing in the Niseko HANAZONO area.
The Ace Pair Number 1, 3 and 4, King Pair Number 1 lift and King Quad Number 2 lifts are being rested for the season at Niseko Grand Hirafu. There may be other lift operation changes at the moment due to coronavirus situation. Do be sure to check for details with ski areas.
Niseko Now 2020-2021 season |
Data as of Tuesday 16th February 2021 Total snowfall at base so far 975cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 71 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 34cm (31st December and 18th January) November 2020 snowfall 62cm reported on 6 days December 2020 snowfall 348cm reported on 25 days January 2021 snowfall 387cm reported on 27 days February 2021 snowfall 178cm reported on 13 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.