Niseko Now: Friday 8th March 2013
- Mar 8, 2013
- 3 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Niseko region of Hokkaido
New snowfall at base 0cm
Snowfall at base this season 1345cm
Weather overview Cloud, fine
Wind
Light
Temperature 4C base / 0C top
Visibility Fair
Posted at 8:30am on Friday 8th March 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Niseko Now report can be found here
Another morning with no new snowfall to report, though the snow depth for Hirafu has risen by 10cm since yesterday. It did actually snow yesterday for a while after starting off raining.
Impressive numbers for 8th March, 485cm up top there.
A bit milder than this time yesterday actually. We're really feeling like spring right now both in weather and snow conditions, but are at the same time preparing for and rubbing our hands in anticipation of another blast of winter. Hopefully by tomorrow morning I will have some snow to report and it will be colder as a cold front moves in and some potentially heavy snow around Sunday. That would be great, obviously!
For now, it's a fine morning. Fine but cloudy, sort of somewhere in between. All resort lifts set to be open as scheduled.
Avalanche Information
Niseko base 6am: -5C, no new snowfall, sunny, refrozen snow. Moiwa 800m: no new snowfall, no snowdrift development, -5C. Annupuri peak: -7.5C. Coastal data: wind calm, 1.2m waves, pressure 1002hPa. Annupuri snow depth 1000m elevation: 400cm.
A warm front followed by cold air mass has formed a crust on snow surface below 500m, above 800m the surface has recrystallised which will become a significant layer in the future snowpack. The snow on the ridgelines is hard and there has been very little snowfall or snowdrift development. Take care on steep slopes, if you cause the crust to break away it will be like going for a magic carpet ride. In the afternoon as the temperature rises the risk of cornices breaking away increases, avoid traversing below cornices.
Gates 2 and 3 are expected to open at 10.30am. Please follow the ski patrols advice. The mountain is not in good condition due to the change from winter to spring conditions. Beware not only of cracks, there are deep holes as well. The weather can change quickly, prudence and careful planning is required.
Niseko Now 2012-2013 season |
Data as of Friday 8th 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.