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Zao Now: Friday 29th December 2017

  • Dec 29, 2017
  • 2 min read

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 12cm
Snowfall at base this season 236cm

Posted on Friday 29th December 2017 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


Good morning from Zao.


Another 10cm or so of fresh snow on the ground to report and with the New Year weekend nearly upon us there are a lot of people around - and with the possible exception of one or two minor lifts the resort is close on fully open.


A mix of cloud and snow is forecast for the day today and into tomorrow and then there should be a bit of a break from the snowfall for a few days with more expected in the first half of next week.


Should be good conditions for the weekend. We might even get a bit of sunshine.


Lifts and courses:


- Most lifts are now operating and most courses are now open


Official snow depths:


- Summit area: 100cm

- Paradise area: 130cm

- Chuo area: 130cm

- Utopia area: 135cm

- Uwanodai area: 70cm

- Oomori area: 75cm



Zao Now 2017-2018 season

Data as of Friday 29th December 2017 Total snowfall at base 236cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 23 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 32cm (on 25th November and 28th December) November 2017 snowfall 66cm observed on 5 days December 2017 snowfall 170cm observed on 18 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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