Niseko Now: Tuesday 19th February 2013
- Feb 19, 2013
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 16, 2025
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 10cm
Snowfall at base this season 1188cm
Weather overview Cloud, very light snow
Wind
Light
Temperature -4C base / -8C top
Visibility Fair
Posted at 8:38am on Tuesday 19th February 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning from Niseko.
It is a calm morning here, some very light snow falling at the moment and about 10cm accumulated since yesterday. So light snow early on, but it's due to pick up later on as well as stronger winds. Hopefully we might get away with lift operations not being affected today.
But it looks like we could be in for some potentially heavy snowfall along with windy conditions later on tomorrow in the region.
It's not quite as cold this morning and about -5C at the moment at base. Consistent snowfall lined up on the forecast daily through into next week.
I see this morning that Niseko Grand Hirafu are reporting a snow depth of 500cm on the upper areas of the resort. That got me looking at the JMA snow fall numbers for Kutchan again this morning and it seems that we are up to 150cm in February 2013. That is already more than the disappointing February 2011 and 66cm off the 216cm recorded in February last season. With the forecast looking promising over the coming week, I'd say we are well on course to beat last year. What fun we have!
Avalanche Information
Niseko base 6am: -5C, 10cm of new snowfall and calm morning. Moiwa peak: NW5m/s, light development of snowdrifts. -8C. Annupuri peak: NW2.7m/s, -10.5C. Annupuri 1000m snowpack: 370cm. Coastal data: NW5m/s, 0.9m waves and 1005hPa.
A westerly wind is forecasted to pick up in areas above 800m from before noon as a small low-pressure system passes east. This morning's snowfall is typical snow crystals falling on the front-side of a low-pressure system. This morning’s avalanche risk is relatively low, however will rise as the wind & snow picks up. Beware of loose snow avalanche. Gates 2 & 3 will open at 10am, please respect the ski patrol’s instructions.
A strong storm with heavy snowfall and wind over 15m/s makes snowdrifts develop rapidly in leeward slopes. These developing highly wind-affected snowdrifts are extremely unstable, collapse with the slightest stimulation and triggers a slide. Beware of the future snowfall transition. The avalanche hazard should be evaluated by how it snows, not how much it snowed. Many of the avalanche accidents happen during and just after storms.
This morning's off-piste snow condition is good. Beware of cracks and hitting trees. Ride safe, better not overestimate the performance of your gear.
Niseko Now 2012-2013 season |
Data as of Monday 18th February 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 1188cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 79 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 209cm 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.