Niseko Now: Monday 20th January 2014
- Jan 20, 2014
- 2 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 3cm
Snowfall at base this season 740cm
Posted on Monday 20th January 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning from Hirafu.
Another cold morning with a current temperature of -10 degrees and just a few cm of new snowfall to report and quite calm here at village level though the avalanche report tells us to to expect winds of around 10m/s around noon today. For now all resorts look set to go for the day.
Weather conditions are currently cloudy with light snow being reported by Grand Hirafu but nothing major. Fingers crossed we'll get back into larger snowfall numbers from later on tomorrow.
There's not much else to report really this morning, so until tomorrow!
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Niseko base 6am: -10C, 3cm new snow in the last 12hrs. Moiwa 800m: -13C, wind W5m/s. Annupuri 1150m: -14C, 5cm new snow, no new snowdrift development, wind W10m/s. Annupuri peak1308m: -14.3C, wind W2.5m/s, wind predicted to be W10m/s at noon. Hirafu 1000m: -13C, trace new snow. Cape Benkei: NNW9m/s, Cape Kamui: NW 4m/s, wave 0.9m, pressure 1009hPa.
Calm weather at both ocean and mountain. No obvious snow drift development. Generally the avalanche risk is low except for Kozon no sawa (back bowl) side walls. All gates are expected to open. Yesterdays tracks are not covered , be careful of falling and hitting trees. Cracks are hard to see from above, take care. Once you pass through the gates you are not in the ski area any more. Please follow the patrols advice. Be prepared. Do not duck ropes. Snow is shallow and fast.
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Official snow depth numbers and lift news at time of writing:
Grand Hirafu / Hanazono:
Top - 380cm
Base - 185cm
Niseko Village:
Top - 320cm
Base - 220cm
Annupuri:
Top - 270cm
Base - 210cm
Niseko Now 2013-2014 season |
Data as of Monday 20th January 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 740cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 50 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 342cm reported on 19 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.