Zao Now: Wednesday 27th December 2017
- Dec 27, 2017
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 5, 2025
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata
New snowfall at base 19cm
Snowfall at base this season 192cm
Posted on Wednesday 27th December 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.
Morning
Not as much snow on the ground as I was expecting - 19cm - but I think the strong winds are to blame for some of that, blowing it all around. It is lovely and light.
Snow and wind is what is on the forecast for today as well, so the numbers should be building up. I think I will be able to bring you more numbers tomorrow.
With just a few exceptions, Zao Onsen is pretty much fully open now - though you can't see much of it with the poor visibility.
Once the storm passes (in a few days time), we should be in for a treat.
Lifts and courses:
- Most lifts are now operating and most courses are now open
Official snow depths:
- Summit area: 90cm
- Paradise area: 100cm
- Chuo area: 100cm
- Utopia area: 100cm
- Uwanodai area: 60cm
- Oomori area: 40cm
Zao Now 2017-2018 season |
Data as of Wednesday 27th December 2017 Total snowfall at base 192cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 21 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 32cm (on 25th November) November 2017 snowfall 66cm observed on 5 days December 2017 snowfall 126cm 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.