Yuzawa Now: Monday 1st February 2016
- Feb 1, 2016
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Yuzawa & Minamiuonuma region of Niigata
New snowfall at base 3cm
Snowfall at base this season 238cm
Posted on Monday 1st February 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here.
Good morning from Yuzawa, first day of February already!
Yesterday the snow did finish up and leave us with some clearer skies and sunshine in the afternoon.
This morning it is snowing and there's 3cm fresh on the ground. Early on Kagura are reporting 3-5cm and Maiko are reporting 5cm. Not a massive amount, but it is still snowing now - though not expected to last beyond this morning.
It is currently -1C and it shouldn't warm up too much during the day today.
Light snow from time to time today and tomorrow as well, some forecasts saying there's a decent chance of the sun making an appearance mid-week - and then a return to some fresh snowfall on Friday.
What will February bring us this season. More of the same, or a sustained blast of full-on winter?
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As promised I'm going to bring you some numbers from the season. To start with today, it'll be our own numbers that we have observed here in town.
A few people have been asking about the snowfall in Yuzawa this season and how it compares with previous seasons. Some didn't know about all of the archives that we have here on SnowJapan - there are archive reports going as far back as 2002 on the site. It's interesting to take a look back and see how the reports have evolved and improved over the years. (Those of you viewing the reports on the mobile site will need to go over to the main website to get all of the arhives and full details).
But just to demonstrate how 'not normal' this season is, last season at the end of January I had observed 979cm of snowfall. This season so far, observing from the same place, that number stands at 235cm; essentially less than 1/4 of the amount from the same point last season.
Last year was definitely 'special' (the previous season the number at the end of January was 433cm), and there's bound to be more snow falling higher on the mountains than here in town, but it's still a pretty startling comparison. And that is perhaps why it's such a talking point - because we are so used to getting huge amounts of snow in this region.
Still, it is important to note that resorts are open and actually have decent snow cover - it's not as if they we have bare mountains like in some places.
January 2016: 143cm
January 2015: 420cm
January 2014: 297cm
15/16 season up until the end of January 2016: 235cm
14/15 season up until the end of January 2015: 979cm
13/14 season up until the end of January 2014: 433cm
Remember those numbers are all observed here at base level, not up on the mountain. And they are taken from the same place in each of those seasons, by ourselves.
Tomorrow, I'll introduce some other statistics that come directly from Niigata Prefecture about official snowfall records in Yuzawa town.
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Resort official snow depths (Monday 1st February 2016) and any specific news at time of writing:
All resorts in the area are either mostly or fully open.
Resorts in Yuzawa:
GALA Yuzawa
170cm
Ishiuchi Maruyama
120cm
Iwappara
105cm
Joetsu Kokusai
140cm
Kagura
140cm (Mitsumata)
170cm (Tashiro)
200cm (Kagura)
Kandatsu Kogen
110-160cm
Maiko Snow Resort
160cm (upper)
60cm (lower)
Muikamachi Hakkaisan
150cm
Naeba
110cm
NASPA Ski Garden
105cm
Yuzawa Kogen
140cm
Yuzawa Nakazato
85cm
Yuzawa Park
85cm
Yuzawa Now 2015-2016 season |
Data as of Monday 1st February 2016 Total snowfall at base so far 238cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 26 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 28cm (28th December) November 2015 snowfall 0cm December 2015 snowfall 92cm reported on 7 days January 2016 snowfall 143cm reported on 18 days February 2016 snowfall 3cm reported on 1 day |
All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Yuzawa. 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.