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Zao Now: Monday 14th December 2020

  • Dec 14, 2020
  • 2 min read

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 16cm
Snowfall at base this season 17cm

Posted on Monday 14th December 2020 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


It is always good to be woken up by the sound of the road clearance bulldozer (the earlier the better as an indication of how much fell overnight). This morning was 06:40 (05:00 would have been better!) so a pleasant surprise to find 16cm fell overnight (at base), as there was a depressing cessation of snowfall by early evening yesterday. Snow reports coming in from around the mountain for collation were therefore delayed this morning.


Higher up, reported levels more or less doubled, however, no additional slopes are open yet. A few more days of the same should do it, fingers crossed. Incidentally, anyone driving up this week, please note that temperatures are inside the -3C to -7C black ice zone so please do be careful, especially on corners.


Right, I'm off to clear the edges of our roofs to prevent the build up of ice. Whilst seeing how long icicles can get may be fun, the ice they are attached to can be like 10cms+ slabs of concrete flagstones, not something you want falling on your head. (Don't stand under the lip of a roof - snow falling on someone may be a laugh but it may be hiding something nasty! - a local was killed in the village two years ago).



Zao Now 2020-2021 season

Data as of Monday 14th December 2020 Total snowfall at base 17cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 2 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 16cm (on 14th December) November 2020 snowfall 0cm December 2020 snowfall 17cm observed on 2 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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