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Zao Now: Tuesday 16th January 2018

  • Jan 16, 2018
  • 2 min read

Updated: Oct 6, 2025

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 5cm
Snowfall at base this season 373cm

Posted on Tuesday 16th January 2018 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


Good morning from Zao.


A bit of fresh snow on the ground this morning and more sunshine to start the day off.


It should be a good morning.


Rain seems to be looming on forecasts for tomorrow as temperatures get rather mild over the next few days. If we can't avoid that, at least perhaps we can avoid it in higher elevations. There's not much in terms of snow on the forecast beyond tomorrow and into the weekend, so another refresh would always be welcome


Lifts and course info:


- All lifts operating (apart from Karamatsu, which is rested on normal weekdays)

- All areas open


Official snow depths:


- Summit area: 135cm

- Paradise area: 150cm

- Chuo area: 150cm

- Utopia area: 165cm

- Uwanodai area: 90cm

- Oomori area: 95cm



Zao Now 2017-2018 season

Data as of Tuesday 16th January 2018 Total snowfall at base 373cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 35 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 34cm (on 10th January) November 2017 snowfall 66cm observed on 5 days December 2017 snowfall 193cm observed on 19 days January 2018 snowfall 114cm observed on 11 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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