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Zao Now: Wednesday 17th December 2014

  • Dec 17, 2014
  • 2 min read

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 20cm
Snowfall at base this season 212cm

Posted on Wednesday 17th December 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


20cm of new snow to report from Zao this morning.


Snow, fog, wind. It's a storm out there. Cold too. Time for an onsen?


But if you want to be out in these conditions, there are some lifts still moving. As far as I can find out for the moment, the lifts below are moving but it's limited out there.


Winds set to be with us today and tomorrow as well, with today probably being the worst. Might even clear up and see some sun tomorrow.


Expect another bunch of snow to be reported tomorrow morning.


Planned operating lifts today (subject to change):


Sky Cable Gondola

Zao Chuo Ropeway

Onsen Number 1 pair lift

Onsen Number 2 quad

Mikaeri pair lift

Chuo Number 1 pair lift

Yokokura Number 1 pair lift


Official snow depths:


Utopia: 160cm

Chuo: 130cm

Paradise: 110cm

Uwanodai: 120cm



Zao Now 2014-2015 season

Data as of Wednesday 17th December 2014 Total snowfall at base 212cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 14 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 80cm (on 3rd December) November 2014 snowfall 20cm observed on 2 days December 2014 snowfall 192cm 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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