Zao Now: Saturday 21st March 2026
- Mar 21
- 2 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata
New snowfall at base 6cm
Snowfall at base this season 452cm
Posted on Saturday 21st March 2026 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.
We got some fresh snow down to base!
Great to see a modest layer this morning and everywhere has a fresh coat of white. The ski area is actually reporting 15cm of snow from upper areas. Wonderful. (Not as much as that down at base, but still a layer on the ground).
It is windy, though, so a real winter feel to proceedings this morning. Fingers crossed lifts won't be affected.
I wonder if this will be the last snow of the season or not.
Clearer skies due tomorrow.
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Official snow depth (reported by ski area):
Yokokura area: 50cm
Uwanodai area: 70cm
Utopia area: 140cm
Chuo area: 150cm
Paradise area: 150cm
Summit area: 95cm
The following lifts are now closed for the season:
Nakamori Number 2 pair
Zao Kokutai pair
More information about the ski area: Zao Onsen
Zao Now2025-2026 season |
Data as of Saturday 21st March 2026 Total snowfall at base 452cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 61 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 24cm (on 12th January) November 2025 snowfall 5cm observed on 2 days December 2025 snowfall 120cm observed on 18 days January 2026 snowfall 199cm observed on 23 days February 2026 snowfall 92cm observed on 11 days March 2026 snowfall 36cm observed on 7 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.