Zao Now: Tuesday 16th December 2025
- Dec 16, 2025
- 2 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata
New snowfall at base 6cm
Snowfall at base this season 84cm
Posted on Tuesday 16th December 2025 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.
Whiteout yesterday with strong gusts and lifts affected.
It calmed down and cleared somewhat by the middle of the day.
It is much calmer this morning. There was an early for but it is much clearer now as time of report with some blue sky.
A mild weekend is ahead of us.
More snow before then, please!
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Ski lifts operating (planned):
Onsen Number 1 pair
Onsen Number 2 quad (unconfirmed)
Chuo Number 1 pair
Chuo Number 2 pair
Mikaeri pair
Utopia Number 2 pair
Ski runs open (planned):
Chuo
Uwanodai
Utopia
Official snow depth (reported by ski area):
Yokokura area: 35cm
Uwanodai area: 30cm
Utopia area: 50cm
Chuo area: 30cm
Paradise area: 20cm
Summit area: 45cm
Zao Now2025-2026 season |
Data as of Tuesday 16th December 2025 Total snowfall at base 84cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 11 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 23cm (on 4th December) November 2025 snowfall 5cm observed on 2 days December 2025 snowfall 79cm observed on 9 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.