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Zao Now: Friday 5th April 2024

  • Apr 5, 2024
  • 2 min read

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 0cm
Snowfall at base this season 480cm

Posted on Friday 5th April 2024 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


Hello from Zao Onsen.


The sun is out this morning. There's thin cloud around but it's a nice and bright morning.


The weekend is set to get warmer with temps possibly approaching 20C during the daytime. Forecasts generally show sunny skies for the weekend too.


This weekend is the last for a few more ski lifts as we enter the final part of the season with the ski runs in the Chuo area set to remain open from Monday.


Official snow depth (reported by ski area):

Yokokura area: 15cm

Uwanodai area: 60cm

Utopia area: 130cm

Chuo area: 135cm

Paradise area: 135cm

Summit area: 130cm


The following lifts remain open:

Zao Ropeway

Zao Chuo Ropeway

Sky Cable

Onsen Number 1 pair (* open until 7th April)

Mikaeri pair (* open until 7th April)

Chuo Number 1 pair (* open until 6th May)

Chuo Number 2 pair (* open until 14th April)

Utopia Number 2 pair (* open until 6th May)


Planned ski season closing date:

Monday 6th May



Zao Now 2023-2024 season

Data as of Friday 5th April 2024 Total snowfall at base 480cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 65 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 39cm (on 25th January) November 2023 snowfall 32cm observed on 4 days December 2023 snowfall 66cm observed on 14 days January 2024 snowfall 176cm observed on 19 days February 2024 snowfall 92cm observed on 13 days March 2024 snowfall 114cm observed on 15 days April 2024 snowfall 0cm




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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