Niseko Now: Friday 28th February 2014
- Feb 28, 2014
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 3cm
Snowfall at base this season 1037cm
Posted on Friday 28th February 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Morning from Niseko and we do actually have some new snow to report. It's a bit wet, but it's snow all the same - we'll take it!
It's not snowing now and actually the sun is making an appearance. The forecast does seem to telling us to expect sun today. Hopefully it will be getting colder over the next few days as well and from Monday snow clouds should be back over the region.
I have to write my report early this morning and so I don't have complete news yet from the resorts regarding lifts but there may well be some stopped this morning due to the wind. The only thing I have as of 8am is that Annupuri say they'll open if and when the wind calms down, so seems at least some delays there. Please check with the resorts for the updates on that situation.
Update: Niseko Grand Hirafu are saying that the top King 3, King 4 and Ace 4 lifts will not be opening on time due to the wind up there.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Niseko base 6am: 0C, 3cm of wet wind-affected snow. Moiwa 800m: n/a. Annupuri 1150m: W15m/s, -6C, development of snowdrifts. Hirafu 1000m: -6C, light snowfall. Peak 1308m: NW21.6m/s, -8C. Coastal data: Benkei cape NNW14m/s, Kamui cape NW12m/s, 1.0m waves, 1012hPa.
Warm air inflow with wet snowfall due to passing low-pressure system. Westerly wind is picking up above 600m as the cold-front passed early morning. Re-crystallized snow due to temperature drop is unstable and easily sliding in steep faces. Tracks have frozen under treeline and the skiing condition is bad. Peak gates opening is yet to be determined, please respect the ski patrol’s decisions. The weather is forecasted to temporarily improve, however another storm will start picking up as soon as snow-clouds start to form on the Sea of Japan. Keep in mind that many of the accidents occur during poor weather conditions. Have a safe day. Spring season is approaching.
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Official snow depth numbers and lift news at time of writing:
Grand Hirafu / Hanazono:
Top - 370cm
Base - 170cm
Niseko Village:
Top - 350cm
Base - 200cm
Annupuri:
Top - 355cm
Base - 210cm
Niseko Now 2013-2014 season |
Data as of Friday 28th February 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 1037cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 80 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 178cm reported on 20 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.