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Zao Now: Friday 24th December 2021

  • Dec 24, 2021
  • 2 min read

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 5cm
Snowfall at base this season 92cm

Posted on Friday 24th December 2021 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


Well at least we got some extra covering last night. It won't be until the evenings of the next 3 days when we will see anything more substantial but with it comes a very big drop in temperature, courtesy of Siberia.


The snow was pleasantly soft at Paradise/Utopia/Hyakumannin/Diamond Valley and the Chuo slopes yesterday albeit visibility was poor. Lower down was rather hard but it is much nicer today. The Kurohime Super Giant slope was roped off yesterday. It had not been groomed so the previous powder was furrowed hard so do not be tempted to cross the rope if it is still up today (same for anywhere else). The good thing was that the hard ground meant not so much skating on the flats.


Big surprise going through fog to find the tops sunny and brilliantly clear. Snow also fluffy so a good day today!


Official snow depth


Summit: 55cm

Paradise: 40cm

Chuo: 40cm

Utopia: 85cm

Uwanodai: 45cm


The majority of lifts and areas are now at least part open on the mountain.



Zao Now 2021-2022 season

Data as of Friday 24th December 2021 Total snowfall at base 92cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 11 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 22cm (on 18th December) November 2021 snowfall 38cm observed on 3 days December 2021 snowfall 54cm observed on 8 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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