Niseko Now: Thursday 21st March 2013
- Mar 21, 2013
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 15cm
Snowfall at base this season 1418cm
Weather overview Snow
Wind
Varied
Temperature -7C base / -12C top
Visibility Varied
Posted at 9:02am on Thursday 21st March 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning from Niseko and I have good news. Yes, a nice new delivery of snow to report. About 15cm outside where I am but strong winds mean that it's one of those days when you'll get different numbers with every person you ask - some places less, some places more. I can imagine though that this morning there'll be some very nice spots to find on the mountain though.
Nice and cold too.
Unfortunately those same winds mean that it's not fully open this morning. Actually, the Annupuri area is completely closed (as of their latest update). Niseko Village has the lower lifts running - Banzai, Morino and Community - and they have been reporting wind speeds of up to 26m/s. At Grand Hirafu the lifts operating as of 9am were the Ace Family, Ace Number 1, King Number 1, Holiday Number 1 and the Hirafu Gondola. Hanazono only has the lower lift operating at reduced speed at the moment. It seems unlikely that the wind situation will improve much during the day today, we can only hope.
So fairly blizzard-like conditions out there this morning and a return to mid-winter with generally poor visibility out on the slopes.
Avalanche Information
Niseko base 6am: -7C, 20cm new snow, snowdrift development, blizzard. Annupuri peak: -16.1C. Coastal data: wind WNW20m/s, 2.1m waves, pressure 1000hPa. Snow depth at 1000m: up from 390cm.
Blizzard conditions due to a strong winter weather pattern, new snowdrift growth on top of 20th Mar layer resulting in HIGH avalanche risk. From snowfall data, on SE facing slopes and knolls above 800m there is risk of 50cm surface slab avalanches. The wind is expected to drop after lunch and snowdrifts will begin to stabilse, in the morning, however, do not ride steep or leeward slopes.
Peak gates will be closed today. Hirafu Center 4 lift is expect to operate. Do not enter strictly off limits area Haru no Taki looking for fresh snow. Other gates openings are yet to be decided. Please respect Patrols decisions. All lifts at Moiwa are expected to be closed.
Please be careful driving and getting stuck on backroads today. If you get stuck, turn your engine off and wait. The wind and snow can block the exhaust from exiting the vehicle and you can become asphyxiated by exhaust fumes. In the car, even in negative temperatures, you wont immediately freeze to death. The storm will finish soon.
Niseko Now 2012-2013 season |
Data as of Thursday 21st March 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 1418cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 101 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 123cm reported on 13 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.