Niseko Now: Saturday 1st February 2014
- Feb 1, 2014
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 20cm
Snowfall at base this season 879cm
Posted on Saturday 1st February 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Lots of snow falling yesterday - as well as wind blowing - and this morning I have an additional 20cm of fresh to report from the Hirafu village area.
At the time of writing, resorts aren't open as planned with strong winds especially over at Annupuri where upper area winds of up to 23m/s reported keeping all of the lifts there from operating. At Niseko Village just the bottom three lifts are moving. At Hirafu here the top Ace 3 and 4 lifts as well as the King 3 and 4 lifts are not moving due to strong winds, and the top two lifts at Hanazono are similarly affected. And here we were thinking we might catch a break with the wind this morning! If they can't get those opening up unfortunately it's inevitably going to create some congestion this morning. And there's lots of people around as well.
The current snow is forecast to ease off during the day and leave us with just cloud. Should be cold overnight again but warm up tomorrow and we might see temperature rise to around 0 or possibly even slightly above. Hopefully there will be less wind.
We should be getting back to the cold we expect though early in the week.
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OK as promised here's a quick look back at January and the numbers. And a good January it was of course. We logged (observed) 461cm of snowfall here at base in the month. The same observed number from the same spot in January last year (2013) was 443cm.
Observed snowfall since the beginning of the season (2012-2013, last season): 979cm
Observed snowfall since the beginning of the season (2013-2014, this season): 869cm
Interesting. The main difference so far being more snowfall in December 2012 than December 2013. Both pretty amazing numbers, and of course we have over three months left of the season.
Let's take a quick look at the JMA numbers recorded in Kutchan town...
January 2013: 268cm
January 2014: 317cm
As always remember that the JMA numbers are from Kutchan town and our numbers are observed close to the base of Hirafu - so there's more falling on them there mountains. And also worth pointing out that this is not a science project, just presenting them to you because we find them to be interesting.
JMA statistic for February last season (2013): 228cm
SnowJapan Niseko Now statistic from February last season (2013): 406cm
Long may the impressive snowfall numbers continue. (Oh yes... and light, dry and powdery please!)
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Niseko base 6am: -7, 20cm new snow in last 12 hrs. Moiwa 800m: -12C, wind NW15m/s, poor visibility, blizzard conditions, highly unstable snowdrift and cornice development. Annupuri 1150m: -11C, wind W15-20m/s, major snowdrift development. Hirafu 1000m: -12C, 50cm snow drift growth. Annupuri peak 1308m: -16.4C, wind NW20.9m/s. Cape Benkei: NW16m/s, Cape Kamui: W12m/s, wave 2.7m, pressure 1017hPa.
The cold air flow bringing us strong northwest wind (>15m/s) and snow continues both on the coast and mountains. From current observation and snowfall trends the avalanche risk in Niseko and surrounding mountains remains HIGH. The storm is expected to calm down this morning however open steep slopes and cornice slopes above 800m should be considered dangerous and avoided. Peak gates will be closed. Please respect and follow the patrols decisions. Do not duck ropes to enter Osawa, Kozen no sawa, Hanazono cornice area or Mizuno no sawa. Any avalanche will be large. The snow is good in the trees. Dont be overconfident or rely too much on your equipment. Beware falling into cracks, dont stop at the bottom or in gullies.
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Official snow depth numbers and lift news at time of writing:
Grand Hirafu / Hanazono:
Top - 400cm
Base - 195cm
Niseko Village:
Top - 345cm
Base - 230cm
Annupuri:
Top - 280cm
Base - 210cm
Niseko Now 2013-2014 season |
Data as of Saturday 1st February 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 879cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 61 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 20cm reported on 1 day |
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.