Zao Now: Friday 24th April 2026
- Apr 24
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 24
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata
New snowfall at base 0cm
Snowfall at base this season 456cm
Posted on Friday 24th April 2026 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.
Good morning from Zao.
As announced yesterday, today (Friday 24th April) is the last day of the ski/snowboard season here in Zao.
The original plan was to continue until 6th May, but an early closing announcement seemed increasingly inevitable in the last few weeks. There just wasn't enough snow and stretching what we had out until May was, in the end, impossible.
We could enjoy some fine conditions, of course, and there were a lot of people around. (Sometimes too many?! Discuss).
January was the peak month in terms of snowfall, with snow reported at base on 23 days. After that, like much of Japan, it felt like the full-on mid-winter mood eased off somewhat and fresh snowfall started to became scarcer.
Zao is, of course, a popular destination throughout the year - and for good reason. The Zao Echo Line road connecting us with Miyagi Prefecture re-opens today, so we'll soon be in 'Green Season' mode.
Let's hope that 2026-2027 brings us big snow. See you in November!
More information about the ski area: Zao Onsen
Zao Now2025-2026 season |
Data as of Friday 24th April 2026 Total snowfall at base 456cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 63 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 April 2026 snowfall 4cm observed on 2 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.