Niseko Now: Sunday 16th March 2014
- Mar 16, 2014
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 3cm
Snowfall at base this season 1144cm
Posted on Sunday 16th March 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Another few cm of snow this morning on the ground here in Hirafu - so hopefully/probably more than that on the mountain - and it is a fairly mild morning with temps just under zero.
Resorts are reporting poor visibility early on with top lifts at Hirafu, Annupuri and Village all on hold as of 8:30am.
As per forecast, cloud with light snow at times is what we seem to have today.
A few people have asked us where the weather forecasts are.... if you look on the right side of this page (or indeed any of our Now reports), you will see a list of 'Nearby snow resorts'. Click on the resort you are interested in to be taken to the resort info on SnowJapan. At the top of that page you will see a large blue tab labelled 'Weather info'. That's where you will find the weather/snow forecasts - and they are updated throughout the year. You may also find some stuff you didn't know about on the site, so please do go over and take a look.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Niseko base 6am: -3C, 3cm of low-pressure snowfall. Moiwa peak: n/a. Annupuri 1150m: mild wind, -7C, thick fog, poor visibility, 3cm of fresh, snowpack 340cm. Hirafu 1000m: mild wind, -7C, light snowfall. Peak 1308m: S9.7m/s, -8.2C. Coastal data: cape Benkei SSE5m/s, cape Kamui ENE2m/s, 0.7m waves, 1013hPa.
A small Low is quickly passing over southern Hokkaido. Typical small crystal snow has started to fall since 2am. This type of snow is loose and slides easily whether in steeps or trees. It is also likely to form a weak layer under future snowdrift slabs that could trigger avalanches with unclear crown. Beware of the coming snowfall transition. The snow condition is actually not too bad as the temperature gradient remained small.
Peak gates will open from the morning. Listen to the ski patrol’s instructions, be geared up and step out of the gates. The visibility will be bad in the morning. The season is slowly shifting to spring, but temperature is still low. Beware of sudden weather changes and falling into cracks. Have a nice day.
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Official snow depth numbers and lift news at time of writing:
Grand Hirafu / Hanazono:
Top - 400cm
Base - 200cm
Niseko Village:
Top - 390cm
Base - 200cm
Annupuri:
Top - 395cm
Base - 200cm
Niseko Now 2013-2014 season |
Data as of Sunday 16th March 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 1144cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 92 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (14th January) November 2013 snowfall 123cm reported on 9 days December 2013 snowfall 275cm reported on 22 days January 2014 snowfall 461cm reported on 29 days February 2014 snowfall 178cm reported on 20 days March 2014 snowfall 107cm reported on 12 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.