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Zao Now: Sunday 21st December 2014

  • Dec 21, 2014
  • 2 min read

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 1cm
Snowfall at base this season 253cm

Posted on Sunday 21st December 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


1cm of snow to report this morning from Zao, which is nice to report as it rained here last night.


Quite strong winds are persisting this morning though here in the village it feels fairly mild. It may well be different up on the slopes where visibility also seems very limited in places.


Snowfall expected through into tomorrow, with moderate to strong winds also a feature to expect.


I have added the 'Light Up' dates for the 2014/2015 season below and will keep those on the report each day until that is finished. On those operating days, the Zao Ropeway operates in the evening and the . Subject to weather conditions. Your ski lift ticket isn't valid for this and while it's not cheap to go up there I think it's definitely worth taking a look once on a night when the weather conditions are clear.


Official snow depths:


Utopia: 160cm

Chuo: 160cm

Paradise: 150cm

Uwanodai: 125cm


Night skiing operations at Zao this season


Uwanodai area:

From today until 22nd March


Yokokura area:

From Friday 26th December until 4th January;

Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from Friday 9th January until 15th March


Open times from 5pm until 9pm. Remember the cameras, once the sun comes out we should be in for some fantastic scenery too.



Zao Now 2014-2015 season

Data as of Sunday 21st December 2014 Total snowfall at base 253cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 16 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 80cm (on 3rd December) November 2014 snowfall 20cm observed on 2 days December 2014 snowfall 233cm observed on 14 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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