Niseko Now: Wednesday 27th February 2013
- Feb 27, 2013
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 2cm
Snowfall at base this season 1290cm
Weather overview Cloud
Wind
Light
Temperature -2C base / -8C top
Visibility Generally fine
Posted at 8:47am on Wednesday 27th February 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Sapporo was fun. It's a great city and a visit is highly recommended. And yes, the beer of the same name is fine too.
Enough of that. Back to Niseko!
Just a few cm of snow to report this morning since yesterday and it's a mild morning. Fairly calm too here where I am in Hirafu, but I can see that the flags waving about excitedly over at Hanazono on the webcam. Even so, they are reporting wind speed of up to 5m/s, and all resorts on the mountain are preparing to be fully open as normal, so wind doesn't seem to be an issue today.
It's cloudy at the moment with the chance of light snow showers during the day, but certainly nothing major. Similar weather conditions are likely tomorrow, maybe with some stronger winds.
Today, the JMA snow fall number for Kutchan Town stands at 216cm which is exactly the same as was recorded in the month of Febraury 2012. Another 20cm and we'll 'beat' the numbers for Febraury over the last 7 seasons. Yes, they are only numbers, but when it comes to amounts of snow we always want bigger ones. Doesn't look like we'll manage that in the end but a respectable number anyway for sure. Next up will be March which sometimes throws us some delights and surprises.
The forecast for the first days of March is actually looking very positive with the potential for heavy snowfalls this Friday into Saturday and a return to more suitably colder conditions on the mountain late weekend.
Avalanche Information
Niseko base 6am: -6C, 5cm of snowfall in the past 12 hours, calm morning. Moiwa 800m: SW5m/s, no development of snowdrifts, -10C. Annupuri peak: SW7m/s, -11.1C. Coastal data: S4m/s, 0.8m waves and 1015hPa.
According to all data and observations, there are no snowdrift developments and the snowpack is stable. The general avalanche hazard is low. This morning's snowfall is typical of pre-low pressure system and will potentially become a trigger layer in the future snowpack. Deeper layers are stable, however caution is always required in 1200m area knolls and 40°slopes under cornices. It is strongly discouraged to stimulate those kinds of slopes during high winter season. Traversing under cornices and knolls is a very bad idea. Peak gates are scheduled to open at 9:30. Listen to the ski patrol’s instructions when stepping out of bounds. Do not duck ropes/nets.
Skiing under Hanazono 3 lift is prohibited. Do not ignore the announcements. The mountain is mostly tracked, but the snow is still in good condition. Do not overestimate gears and skills. Snow & wind is forecasted to pick up in the afternoon, visibility will turn bad, beware of cracks. Think safe, have fun and have a nice day.
Niseko Now 2012-2013 season |
Data as of Wednesday 27th February 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 1290cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 87 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 311cm reported on 23 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.