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Zao Now: Friday 17th January 2014

  • Jan 17, 2014
  • 2 min read

Updated: Oct 2, 2025

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 2cm
Snowfall at base this season 261cm

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


Just another few cm of snow this morning in Zao and it is snowing now.


Snow on and off forecast for the weekend really, with the chance of some guest appearances by the sun. Hard to read. The only thing that looks sure is the continued cold temperatures, it's not going to warm up much at all right through into next week. That's a good thing of course, just come prepared.

Peak season weekend means a busy Zao and so as always if you are going to be visiting a good early start is highly recommended if possible.


Official snow depths:

Utopia: 230cm

Chuo: 185cm

Paradise: 210cm

Uwanodai: 135cm


Zao Now 2013-2014 season

Data as of Friday 17th January 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 261cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 31 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (on 2nd January) November 2013 snowfall 12cm observed on 1 day December 2013 snowfall 179cm observed on 18 days January 2014 snowfall 70cm 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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