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Zao Now: Wednesday 20th January 2021

  • Jan 20, 2021
  • 2 min read

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 1cm
Snowfall at base this season 252cm

Posted on Wednesday 20th January 2021 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


The forecast says sunny spells and the sun is indeed battling to break through the cloud cover.


Lower down is clear but higher up the glare is such that low light/yellow lenses are recommended. The mist and vis of the ground comes and goes higher up.


It is very cold but the snow is lovely.


Big Wings are out in force - see photo below. They do disperse, however, so no lift issues.



Zao Now 2020-2021 season

Data as of Wednesday 20th January 2021 Total snowfall at base 252cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 32 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 23cm (on 19th January) November 2020 snowfall 0cm December 2020 snowfall 142cm observed on 15 days January 2021 snowfall 110cm observed on 17 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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