Niseko Now: Saturday 16th March 2013
- Mar 16, 2013
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 0cm
Snowfall at base this season 1401cm
Weather overview Light snow at times
Wind
Varied
Temperature 0C base / -3C top
Visibility Fair to poor
Posted at 9:20am on Saturday 16th March 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning from Niseko and welcome to another weekend. Already mid-March!
Just a trace of new (wet-type) snow on the ground to report this morning, but it has been snowing lightly early on. As I type this, eased off. Around 0C at the moment.
I'm happy to report that apart from a few lifts operating at reduced speed, the lifts are all moving this morning and so the whole mountain is open and according to the avalanche report gates will be open too.
Tomorrow is forecast to be just generally cloudy - we might get to see some sun - and then we are expecting to have some rain falling on Monday.
Have a fun weekend.
Avalanche Information
Niseko base 6am: 1C, 2cm sleet. Moiwa 800m: -1C, trace new snow. Annupuri peak: -5.9C, expected wind speed at noon: NW18m/s, snow depth at 1000m: 400cm. Coastal data: wind NNW8m/s, 1.9m waves, pressure 1011hPa.
Wet snow conditions, by noon the pressure gradient will have increased along with strong NW wind and snow. Avalanche risk is low in the morning, gates 2 & 3 are expected to open at 10am.
Full depth avalanches have stated to occur on valley side walls as snow pack is changing to spring season. Avoid riding or resting in the valley bottoms. In Niseko, whether cracks are present or not, full depth avalanches can happen at any time without warning.
When leaving the resort area through the gates it is recommended to ride with someone else and take beacon, probe, shovel.
Snow is not bad at the moment. Be careful of cracks, cornices breaking, poor visibility and high winds.
Niseko Now 2012-2013 season |
Data as of Saturday 16th March 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 1401cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 99 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (27th January) November 2012 snowfall 118cm reported on 11 days December 2012 snowfall 418cm reported on 27 days January 2013 snowfall 443cm reported on 26 days February 2013 snowfall 316cm reported on 24 days March 2013 snowfall 106cm reported on 11 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.