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Zao Now: Tuesday 18th December 2018

  • Dec 18, 2018
  • 2 min read

Updated: Oct 6, 2025

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 17cm
Snowfall at base this season 76cm

Posted on Tuesday 18th December 2018 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


Good morning from Zao and I have good news... 17cm of fresh snow on the ground. It is colder this morning and with this lighter snow falling the conditions out there should be pretty good this morning.


Things were a bit 'heavy going' yesterday with some rather mild conditions and the snow being affected by that.


If we can get some more today - as per forecast - perhaps more lifts and courses will be opened?


Lifts and course info:


- Chuo Number 1

- Chuo Number 2

- Mikaeri pair

- Onsen Number 1 pair

- Utopia Number 2 pair


- Zao Ropeway

- Zao Chuo Ropeway

- Sky Cable


* Chuo area part open

* Utopia area part open

* Uwanodai area part open


Official snow depths (as reported by resort):


- Summit area: 25cm

- Paradise area: 35cm

- Chuo area: 50cm

- Utopia area: 50cm

- Uwanodai area: 35cm

- Oomori area: 25cm



Zao Now 2018-2019 season

Data as of Tuesday 18th December 2018 Total snowfall at base 76cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 12 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 17cm (on 18th December) November 2018 snowfall 7cm observed on 3 days December 2018 snowfall 69cm observed on 9 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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