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Zao Now: Thursday 13th January 2022

  • Jan 13, 2022
  • 2 min read

Updated: Oct 7, 2025

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 10cm
Snowfall at base this season 316cm

Posted on Thursday 13th January 2022 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


Good morning after a very blustery day yesterday with blizzards abounding.


Today is a lot calmer but still with medium winds around especially higher up.


Visibility has not improved that much and the current light snow is likely to increase as the day goes by.


At least the fresh snow is extremely fine like talcum powder.


Official snow depth


Summit: 95cm

Paradise: 160cm

Chuo: 160cm

Utopia: 190cm

Uwanodai: 120cm



Zao Now 2021-2022 season

Data as of Thursday 13th January 2022 Total snowfall at base 316cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 28 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 30cm (on 27th and 28th December) November 2021 snowfall 38cm observed on 3 days December 2021 snowfall 160cm observed on 14 days January 2022 snowfall 118cm 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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