Niseko Now: Monday 21st March 2016
- Mar 21, 2016
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 3cm
Snowfall at base this season 973cm
Posted on Monday 21st March 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Good morning from Niseko.
And I have a bit more snow to report this morning. 3cm of it according to my measuring stick, all of it coming down apparently early morning so it's as fresh as can be. It was still snowing earlier on but has been clearing up and there's now an increasing amount of blue skies to be seen and the sun is shining down. It feels like it is going to be a fine day, even if the forecast doesn't promise much in the way of sun.
Keeping quite cold as well which is good, currently just under zero.
It's the last nighta of the season this evening. Always a bit sad to talk about things closing, but then again the lifts during the day are scheduled to continue until early May so there's still a lot of the season left.
I think I am right in saying that many (most) Japanese don't know what Easter is, and they certainly don't have it as a holiday here. Having said that there will be more overseas guests here over the coming week (I think) for that particular holiday.
Hope that the weather and snow co-operates for you all! Hopefully we'll get a bit of light snowfall at times during the week.
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Niseko Avalanche Report:
Niseko base 6am: -4℃, 3cm snowfall, calm. Moiwa 800m: -7℃, 5cm snowfall, light wind and no snowdrift development. Annupuri 1000m snowpack 310cm. Hirafu peak ridge: -10℃, light snowfall. Coastal data Benkei cape: N9m/s, Kamui cape: N4m/s, 1016hPa, 1.1m waves.
A weak winter pressure pattern has brought 3-10cm of new snow this morning. Wind stayed calm and snowdrift development is minimal. Shallow surface slab slides are to be expected in steep slopes of all elevation, please be careful. Even smallest of avalanches are powerful enough and should not be underestimated. Do not rest on top of cornices as they could collapse far beyond expectations.
The cracks are getting larger and new ones are forming on a daily basis. Always keep in mind of them before dropping in a slope. Stay away from valley bottoms as in order to avoid giant spring slides. Full depth avalanches are extremely destructive and run through a very long distance. Listen to the ski patrol’s instructions before stepping out of the gates. Peak gates are scheduled to open today. Just a thin blanket of new snow on top of bumpy hard snow, take it easy and have a nice day.
Niseko Now 2015-2016 season |
Data as of Monday 21st March 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 973cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 79 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 38cm (17th February) November 2015 snowfall 61cm reported on 4 days December 2015 snowfall 244cm reported on 17 days January 2016 snowfall 303cm reported on 26 days February 2016 snowfall 266cm reported on 22 days March 2016 snowfall 99cm reported on 10 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.