Niseko Now: Wednesday 28th January 2015
- Jan 28, 2015
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 3cm
Snowfall at base this season 793cm
Posted on Wednesday 28th January 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Hello and good morning... it's a better morning than yesterday, which wasn't very nice at all.
It is most certainly much colder, with a return to winter like temperatures overnight and early on.
We have some new snowfall as well, though not as much as we would like. Resorts reporting up to 15cm of fresh snow, just a few cm or so down here at base. But, snow is forecast for the day today so fingers crossed for a decent amount.
All of the four resort areas look to open up as planned this morning, the only thing I notice early on is Annupuri Gondola operating at reduced speed. Stronger winds on the forecast for later in the day, so that situation could well change.
Tomorrow cloudy skies are forecast, before a return to snow from later Friday. Once that gets going it should be snowing through into early next week at least so looking very positive still for a proper decent refresh over the weekend.
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Let's update ourselves on some numbers for a bit of excite fun.
In January last season I observed 461cm of snowfall; this month so far my observations in the same place are on 244cm.
Hmmm.
The Japan Meteorological Agency snowfall January readings for Kutchan Town:
January 2011: 420cm
January 2012: 290cm
January 2013: 268cm
January 2014: 317cm
January 2015: 214cm (up until now)
So come on, let's fill out those numbers out for January!
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Resort specific news at time of writing - subject to change during the day
Niseko Grand Hirafu:
Looks set to open as planned this morning.
'Early Morning' lift available daily until 1st February (for 500 yen, Ace Quad Number 2 lift from 8am until 8:20am).
Niseko Hanazono:
Looks set to open as planned this morning.
Niseko Village:
Looks set to open as planned this morning.
'Early Morning Gondola' available Saturdays and Sundays until February 8th (for 1300 yen, Gondola open from 7:30am until 8:30am).
Niseko Annupuri:
Looks set to open as planned this morning. Annupuri Gondola running at reduced speed.
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Niseko Avalanche Report
Niseko base 6am: -9C, 5cm of new snow in 12 hours. Moiwa 800m: W10m/s, -12C, 10cm of new snow with some 40cm snowdrifts. Annupuri snowpack 255cm. Hirafu 1000m: mild wind, -12C, light snowfall. Coastal data: Benkei cape NW19m/s, Kamui cape WSW11m/s, 1011hPa, 2.6m waves.
The winter-pressure pattern dropped some new snowfall starting at 1am. Some snowdrifts started to develop. Yesterday’s low-pressure snowfall is re-crystalizing due to cold temperatures. 40cm thick slides are to be expected in some areas around 700m. New snowfall is still insufficient and old tracks catches the skis/board. Visibility is also pretty bad up high. Beware not to loose control and hit trees. Gates 2 & 3 will be closed. Others are scheduled to open, however situation may change, please respect the ski patrol’s instructions. Be aware that the area outside the gate is not within the resort before you step out of the gates. Niseko respects people’s freedom to ski out of bounds areas, however is also deeply concerned about everyone’s safety. Be safe and have nice day. The conditions will turn better tomorrow.
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Official resort snow depths:
Grand Hirafu / Hanazono:
Top - 360cm
Base - 130cm
Niseko Village:
Top - 270cm
Base - 180cm
Niseko Annupuri:
Top - 265cm
Base - 180cm
Niseko Now 2014-2015 season |
Data as of Wednesday 28th January 2015 Total snowfall at base so far 793cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 51 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (15th and 26th December) November 2014 snowfall 30cm reported on 5 days December 2014 snowfall 519cm reported on 25 days January 2015 snowfall 244cm reported on 21 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.