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Zao Now: Saturday 4th January 2014

  • Jan 4, 2014
  • 2 min read

Updated: Oct 2, 2025

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 2cm
Snowfall at base this season 235cm

Posted on Saturday 4th January 2014 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


Here was are in the last weekend of the new year holiday.


Great day yesterday with blue skies and some cloud for most of the day, nice and bright. Some great photo opportunities - I often feel that some clouds add to the views here rather than just clear blue.


OK so a few cm of new snowfall this morning in Zao, but it's quite mild and just over zero. Should be getting colder tomorrow though we're not expecting snowfall. We might be on for a run of clearer days now before snow comes back mid to late week.


It has been a busy holiday week here. From today people will be starting to make their way back to the real world and especially tomorrow I would expect the mountain to be less busy.


Official snow depths:

Utopia: 195cm

Chuo: 160cm

Paradise: 185cm

Uwanodai: 125cm


Zao Now 2013-2014 season

Data as of Saturday 4th January 2014 Total snowfall at base so far 235cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 22 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 40cm (on 2nd January) November 2013 snowfall 12cm observed on 1 day December 2013 snowfall 179cm observed on 18 days January 2014 snowfall 44cm observed on 3 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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