top of page

Zao Now: Friday 12th January 2018

  • Jan 12, 2018
  • 2 min read

Updated: Oct 6, 2025

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 2cm
Snowfall at base this season 366cm

Posted on Friday 12th January 2018 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


Good morning from Zao.


Not much snow to report since yesterday. The clouds have (for the most part) cleared and we are being treated to some lovely sunny weather this morning in Zao.


Beautiful scenery to enjoy today - not something we have been able to see too much of recently so far.


There's not much snow on the forecast until Tuesday now so we might be able to get more of that sunshine. Let's enjoy it while we can.


All course areas open; all lifts apart from the Karamatsu pair moving.



Zao Now 2017-2018 season

Data as of Friday 12th January 2018 Total snowfall at base 366cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 33 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 34cm (on 10th January) November 2017 snowfall 66cm observed on 5 days December 2017 snowfall 193cm observed on 19 days January 2018 snowfall 107cm observed on 9 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.



bottom of page