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Zao Now: Thursday 25th January 2018

  • Jan 25, 2018
  • 2 min read

Updated: Oct 6, 2025

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 24cm
Snowfall at base this season 470cm

Posted on Thursday 25th January 2018 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


Good morning from Zao.


This storm is really delivering - and is forecast to continue delivering. Perhaps the heaviest today and less so from tomorrow but snow clouds are there on the forecast into early next week.


It is really cold this morning. The coldest yet this season. The top summit station is reporting -19C just after 7am with lower slopes also into minus double digits.


Visibility is limited at best and really poor at worst and it's windy too... some lifts are going to be affected by the conditions.


These are not the friendliest of conditions to be out skiing or snowboarding; so be well prepared.


All this fresh snow is most welcome, though!


Lifts and course info:


- Some lifts may well be affected by winds this morning - too early for info

- All areas open (if lifts are moving)


Official snow depths:


- Summit area: 160cm

- Paradise area: 180cm

- Chuo area: 180cm

- Utopia area: 210cm

- Uwanodai area: 110cm

- Oomori area: 130cm



Zao Now 2017-2018 season

Data as of Thursday 25th January 2018 Total snowfall at base 470cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 40 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 34cm (on 10th January) November 2017 snowfall 66cm observed on 5 days December 2017 snowfall 193cm observed on 19 days January 2018 snowfall 211cm observed on 16 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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