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Zao Now: Saturday 31st January 2015

  • Jan 31, 2015
  • 2 min read

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 3cm
Snowfall at base this season 419cm

Posted on Saturday 31st January 2015 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


Hello and good morning from a snowy Zao. Just a few cm of fresh snow to report but more is expected through the day today, tonight and also into tomorrow.


It's not crazy cold this morning.


Foggy conditions on the mountain with poor visibility all round unfortunately. One of those mornings when you can't see much at all of anything.


It's the Festival tonight... over at Uwanodai if you are around. Might see you there. (If the fog clears up enough!)


Heavy snow once the festival has finished please!


Official snow depths:


Utopia: 190cm

Chuo: 200cm

Paradise: 200cm

Uwanodai: 135cm


Zao Onsen is fully open (though note that the Karamatsu pair lift is closed on weekdays).



Zao Now 2014-2015 season

Data as of Saturday 31st January 2015 Total snowfall at base 419cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 38 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 80cm (on 3rd December) November 2014 snowfall 20cm observed on 2 days December 2014 snowfall 281cm observed on 21 days January 2015 snowfall 118cm observed on 15 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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