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Zao Now: Wednesday 14th December 2016

  • Dec 14, 2016
  • 2 min read

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 11cm
Snowfall at base this season 55cm

Posted on Wednesday 14th December 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


Hello from Zao and there's fresh snowfall to report.


It's not feeling particularly cold, and the thermometer says +1 at the moment, but poor visibility and snow falling with just over 10cm of fresh at base. A bit wet rather than the light powder that we love so much - but it's good all the same, we need the numbers!


The forecast for the next few days is looking pretty good and hopefully we'll be on the receiving end of a decent amount of snowfall. It will be getting colder too.


Lifts that are planned to be operating today at Zao Onsen:


Zao Ropeway

Chuo Ropeway

Sky Cable

Mikaeri pair

Chuo Number 1 pair AB

Onsen Number 1 pair

Utopia Number 2 pair


Official snow depths:

Chuo - 40cm

Utopia - 40cm

Uwanodai - 35cm

Paradise - 40cm



Zao Now 2016-2017 season

Data as of Wednesday 14th December 2016 Total snowfall at base 55cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 13 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 13cm (on 12th December) November 2016 snowfall 11cm observed on 6 days December 2016 snowfall 44cm 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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