Niseko Now: Saturday 2nd March 2013
- Mar 2, 2013
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 10cm
Snowfall at base this season 1310cm
Weather overview Cloud and light snow easing off
Wind
Light
Temperature -2C base / -5C top
Visibility Improving
Posted at 9:39am on Saturday 2nd March 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Another mild morning here in Niseko, though I have around 10cm of snowfall to report. Perhaps not the prime light powder that Niseko is famous for, but new snow all the same. I'll take it! I see that 15cm of snow is being reported from over in the Moiwa area...
Snow forecast for the day along with, yes you've guessed it, moderate to strong winds. Top lifts at all of the resorts on the mountain are not operating this morning but it just seems to be affecting top areas. Oh, and the Niseko Gondola at Niseko Village. I remember saying it before but there sure seems to have been a relatively large number of wind-affected days this season.
Visibility has been pretty poor this morning on mountain, as noted in the avalanche report, but as I am writing this report there's some shadows being case on parts of the mountain as sun breaks through. There's even some small patches of blue sky on show here and there. Just mostly cloudy here as I am writing this. Could it be clearing up?
In the coming week we can expect a run of calmer days and perhaps some sunshine.
If you take a look back at our Niseko Now report archives you'll get an idea of how much snowfall there has been in March and beyond from previous seasons.
The Kutchan town snow fall data from the Japan Meteorological Agency for the month of February 2013 was 228cm, so a slight increase on the previous year and the most since 2009. Last season March was relatively dry with just 79cm, compared with over 2m of snow in the previous two seasons. So March can bring surprises and some excellent conditions. Here's to March 2013 being one of those.
Avalanche Information
Niseko base 6am: -3C, 15cm of new snow. Moiwa 800m: -5C, 15cm new snow, significant snowdrift development, Annupuri peak: wind SE3.5m/s, -8.9C. Coastal data: wind W15m/s, 0.9m waves, pressure 981hPa.
Snowdrifts have rapidly developed above 800m, in strong SE wind, with the passing of the low pressure system yesterday. Snowfall has been warm, wet, broken particles. Below 800m lift lines and inbound steep slopes are also unstable.
Today, a cold westerly wind is expected to intensify, followed by rapid snowdrift development. Avalanche risk is VERY HIGH.
All gates will be closed for the safety of all resort users.
Do not enter the Higashione area, Kagami Numa area or Osawa cornice slopes. Visibility is very bad. Please be aware of cracks and other hazards. The snow conditions within the resorts is good. Do not overestimate your own skills or equipment performance.
Niseko Now 2012-2013 season |
Data as of Saturday 2nd March 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 1310cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 90 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 15cm reported on 2 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.