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Zao Now: Thursday 13th February 2025

  • Feb 13, 2025
  • 2 min read

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 5cm
Snowfall at base this season 517cm

Posted on Thursday 13th February 2025 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


Morning from Zao.


Yesterday, the sun graced us for about 3 hours in the morning, then once again it became overcast. We had some strong winds periodically.


Today we have had a bit of snowfall, and some very strong wind. It is milder than it has been but will probably be getting colder during the day. In fact, things seem to have changed only in the last 30 minutes or so, getting noticeably windier.


Visibility at the start of the day is limited to poor.


No information available yet from the ski area, but lifts may very well be affected by the weather conditions this morning.


Official snow depth (reported by ski area):

Yokokura area: 115cm

Uwanodai area: 155cm

Utopia area: 300cm

Chuo area: 250cm

Paradise area: 250cm

Summit area: 260cm


Night skiing:

Night skiing is planned in the Uwanodai area daily until 24th February (and then 1st/2nd March).



Zao Now 2024-2025 season

Data as of Thursday 13th February 2025 Total snowfall at base 517cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 54 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 34cm (on 6th February) November 2024 snowfall 18cm observed on 4 days December 2024 snowfall 162cm observed on 20 days January 2025 snowfall 191cm observed on 19 days February 2025 snowfall 146cm observed on 11 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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