Zao Now: Friday 17th April 2026
- Apr 17
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 24
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata
New snowfall at base 0cm
Snowfall at base this season 455cm
Posted on Friday 17th April 2026 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.
Hello from a sunny and blue sky Zao.
Tomorrow might be cloudy with clearer weather currently expected again come Sunday and Monday.
The ski slope will remain open basically as long as it can. Snow depth is now officially down to 40-45cm and so if temps remain warm it seems unlikely we will make it to Golden Week at the end of the month. Still, no kind of announcement from the ski area at this point.
The Zao Echo Line road connecting us with Miyagi Prefecture plans to open on Friday 24th April.
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Official snow depth (reported by ski area):
Yokokura area: 0cm
Uwanodai area: 0cm
Utopia area: 35cm
Chuo area: 45cm
Paradise area: -cm
Summit area: 40cm
The following lifts remain operating:
Zao Chuo Ropeway
Sky Cable
Chuo Number 2 pair
Chuo Number 1 pair
The Zao Ropeway is going to be closed from today until 24th April for 'maintenance'.
More information about the ski area: Zao Onsen
Zao Now2025-2026 season |
Data as of Friday 17th April 2026 Total snowfall at base 455cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 62 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 24cm (on 12th January) November 2025 snowfall 5cm observed on 2 days December 2025 snowfall 120cm observed on 18 days January 2026 snowfall 199cm observed on 23 days February 2026 snowfall 92cm observed on 11 days March 2026 snowfall 36cm observed on 7 days April 2026 snowfall 3cm observed on 1 day |
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.