Zao Now: Sunday 17th January 2016
- Jan 17, 2016
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 4, 2025
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata
New snowfall at base 1cm
Snowfall at base this season 188cm
Posted on Sunday 17th January 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.
Morning from Zao where there has been just another small amount of snow since my last report... just about enough to clock in 1cm.
Light snow is falling now and it's foggy with poor visibility up on the mountain I hear.
It is a cold morning too.
All is open.
Now, let's have that heavy snow to really get us in the mood!
We can expect stormy conditions tomorrow meaning hopefully heavy snowfall (very heavy snowfall?!) as well as strong winds that may well affect lift operations. It might be cruel for the people here just now but heavy snowfall is something that I think everyone will want us to be getting. Bring it on!
All of the lifts at Zao Onsen are operating today.
All areas of Zao Onsen are open.
Note that there is still less snow than usual and it is thin on the ground especially on lower course areas of the resort.
Official snow depths:
Utopia: 70cm
Chuo: 85cm
Paradise: 60cm
Uwanodai: 40cm
Zao Now 2015-2016 season |
Data as of Sunday 17th January 2016 Total snowfall at base 188cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 27 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 22cm (on 27th December) November 2015 snowfall 22cm observed on 2 days December 2015 snowfall 96cm observed on 12 days January 2016 snowfall 70cm observed on 13 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.