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Zao Now: Wednesday 16th December 2020

  • Dec 16, 2020
  • 2 min read

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 12cm
Snowfall at base this season 40cm

Posted on Wednesday 16th December 2020 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


Brrr a chilly morning at -8C (not after a morning onsen though but someone seems to have over compensated and I reckon it was 44C, so not a long dip).


More snow overnight and seems set to continue until Monday. I made it at +12cm on the car bonnet (hood) and at the onsen.


Temps are lower higher up with a stated high wind chill factor albeit it seems windless at base (was a bit blustery yesterday afternoon).


Large gain of 40cm on Utopia making it now 60cm but, still only it and the Chuo slopes are running (note two lifts running at Chuo however today, the Mikaeri lift from the top of the Sky Cable does not appear to be running).



Zao Now 2020-2021 season

Data as of Wednesday 16th December 2020 Total snowfall at base 40cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 4 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 16cm (on 14th December) November 2020 snowfall 0cm December 2020 snowfall 40cm observed on 4 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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