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Zao Now: Thursday 11th December 2014

  • Dec 11, 2014
  • 2 min read

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 5cm
Snowfall at base this season 168cm

Posted on Thursday 11th December 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


5cm or so of fresh snow to report since my last report. It was cold and windy yesterday but it's different again this morning - just a cloudy start to the day here, no wind and temperatures in positive numbers... +4 degrees in the village.


Strong winds and a big winter storm just ahead though - it might not be the 'friendliest' of conditions out there this weekend if the forecast gets it right. It should be be cold, windy and we should be getting lots of fresh snow. Perhaps enough to get the whole mountain open next week? We shall see, and I will report!


News on nighta operations at Zao:


Uwanodai area:

From Sunday 21st December until 22nd March


Yokokura area:

From Friday 26th December until 4th January;

Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from Friday 9th January until 15th March


Open times from 5pm until 9pm and the cost is 2000 yen for adults and 1000 yen for children.


Operating lifts at time of writing:


Onsen Number 1 pair lift

Mikaeri pair lift

Chuo pair lift

Paradise pair lift

Yokokura Number 1 pair lift

Utopia Number 2 pair lift

All Ropeways/gondolas


Official snow depths:


Utopia: 140cm

Chuo: 90cm

Paradise: 110cm

Uwanodai: 90cm



Zao Now 2014-2015 season

Data as of Thursday 11th December 2014 Total snowfall at base 168cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 9 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 80cm (on 3rd December) November 2014 snowfall 20cm observed on 2 days December 2014 snowfall 148cm observed on 7 days




All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Zao Onsen. 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.


SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for.



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