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Zao Now: Tuesday 16th January 2024

  • Jan 16, 2024
  • 2 min read

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 20cm
Snowfall at base this season 178cm

Posted on Tuesday 16th January 2024 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


Morning from Zao.


There is very strong wind at the moment and importantly it has snowed heavily overnight. It is foggy too, and I am not able to see any runs, or even the mountain early morning. The snowfall is moving in a horizontal direction. There are snow drifts that are almost 35cm high. A chance that wind might affect some lifts this morning so I would check before heading out.


(Update soon after originally posting: Even just since originally writing this, visibility has improved and fog is moving up the mountain. Quickly changing conditions!)


Tomorrow... sunny skies are forecast.



Zao Now 2023-2024 season

Data as of Tuesday 16th January 2024 Total snowfall at base 178cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 29 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 20cm (on 16th January) November 2023 snowfall 32cm observed on 4 days December 2023 snowfall 66cm observed on 14 days January 2024 snowfall 80cm 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.


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