Niseko Now: Tuesday 5th March 2013
- Mar 5, 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 1345cm
Weather overview Cloud, light snow
Wind
Light
Temperature -4C base / -8C top
Visibility Decent
Posted at 8:56am on Tuesday 5th March 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Well, can't say I was totally expecting this but we can again add another 10cm or so of fresh snow this morning in Hirafu village area and a temperature of -3C at the moment. There'll be more snow on them there mountains, so perhaps some nice deep places to be hunted down.
Resorts are reporting lower base temperatures of around -3 degrees and upper mountain areas at around -9 degrees as of 8am this morning. Cloudy with light snow showers early on.
What's more, there is hardly any wind at all this morning. Yes, it's all calm here. Niseko Annupuri are even reporting wind speeds mountain-wide of 0m/s! The top lifts should be getting a good work out today and peak gates are scheduled to be open as of 10am.
The forecast seems to be promising more goodies for us than it seemed to be yesterday which is encouraging. Though we can expect tomorrow and Thursday to be milder before temperatures drop once again around Friday. Winter doesn't seem to want to make way for full on spring just quite yet. And you'll hear no complaints from most people here, I'm sure.
Take care and have fun.
Avalanche Information
Niseko base 6am: -5C, calm, 10cm of new snow. Annupuri peak: -11.6C. Coastal data: wind N3m/s, 0.7m waves, pressure 1014hPa. At 1500m the wind is expected to be W10m/s by 12pm. Currently Annupuri snow depth is 400cm at 1000m elevation.
There has been no significant snowdrift development overnight and the overall avalanche risk is low. Peak gates are expected to open at 10am. Please listen to the ski patrol's advice before leaving the ski area. Outside the gates is outside the ski area.
Generally the snowpack is stable, however there is still a possibility of slabs fracturing in some areas. Please use caution on cornice slopes, knolls and open steep slopes. Ski down one by one and avoid riding in the valley bottom. The new snow is fantastic powder and easy to ski. Please be careful going fast and hitting a tree or falling into cracks.
Niseko Now 2012-2013 season |
Data as of Tuesday 5th March 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 1345cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 93 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 50cm reported on 5 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.