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Zao Now: Wednesday 21st February 2018

  • Feb 21, 2018
  • 2 min read

Updated: Oct 6, 2025

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 11cm
Snowfall at base this season 714cm

Posted on Wednesday 21st February 2018 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


Morning from Zao.


It was a snowy start to the day with some light snow falling earlier but that has eased off with the clouds clearing - and there's 11cm of fresh on the ground to report.


We might see some sunshine from the start tomorrow though snow clouds shouldn't be too far away as we head into the weekend.


Lifts and course info:


- All lifts appear to be opening as scheduled

- Note: the Karamatsu pair lift usually only operates on weekends

- All areas open


Official snow depths:


- Summit area: 215cm

- Paradise area: 240cm

- Chuo area: 240cm

- Utopia area: 265cm

- Uwanodai area: 160cm

- Oomori area: 185cm



Zao Now 2017-2018 season

Data as of Wednesday 21st February 2018 Total snowfall at base 714cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 58 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 42cm (on 12th February) November 2017 snowfall 66cm observed on 5 days December 2017 snowfall 193cm observed on 19 days January 2018 snowfall 275cm observed on 21 days February 2018 snowfall 180cm 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.


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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