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Zao Now: Saturday 16th January 2016

  • Jan 16, 2016
  • 2 min read

Updated: Oct 4, 2025

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 1cm
Snowfall at base this season 187cm

Posted on Saturday 16th January 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


Just 1cm of snow to report to you since my last report and a cloudy start to the day with I hear light snow falling on upper areas of the mountain early on and poor visibility due to early morning fog and cloud.


Late tomorrow into Monday is looking like it might be exciting. Heavy snowfall ahoy! Fingers crossed everyone.


It should be another busy January weekend here - all of the lifts are moving. All we need now really to complete the picture is that snow.


All of the lifts at Zao Onsen are operating today.

All areas of Zao Onsen are open.

Note that there is still less snow than usual and it is thin on the ground especially on lower course areas of the resort.


Official snow depths:


Utopia: 70cm

Chuo: 85cm

Paradise: 60cm

Uwanodai: 40cm



Zao Now 2015-2016 season

Data as of Saturday 16th January 2016 Total snowfall at base 187cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 26 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 22cm (on 27th December) November 2015 snowfall 22cm observed on 2 days December 2015 snowfall 96cm observed on 12 days January 2016 snowfall 69cm observed on 12 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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