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Zao Now: Saturday 31st December 2016

  • Dec 31, 2016
  • 2 min read

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 1cm
Snowfall at base this season 109cm

Posted on Saturday 31st December 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


Things cleared up during the day yesterday leaving us to enjoy some blue skies and fantastic scenery.


The clouds are back this morning though and light snow is falling early on.


The only main areas of Zao Onsen that remain closed now are Kurohime, Omori, Ryuzan, Kotan and Kokutai. But please remember that even on the areas that are open, snow is generally still thin on the ground and we could still do with a lot more. Special care needs to be taken out there until things get deep.



Zao Now 2016-2017 season

Data as of Saturday 31st December 2016 Total snowfall at base 109cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 22 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 17cm (on 17th December) November 2016 snowfall 11cm observed on 6 days December 2016 snowfall 98cm 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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