Zao Now: Tuesday 5th January 2016
- Jan 5, 2016
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 4, 2025
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata
New snowfall at base 1cm
Snowfall at base this season 124cm
Posted on Tuesday 5th January 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.
Morning from Zao and it feels more like winter this morning, though we still have some way to go.
Snow is falling and it's generally quite poor visibility out there. It's colder too with temperatures now back down all under zero where they should be.
The forecast has more snow today - though don't expect much - and then maybe more around Thursday. A cold snowy winter storm is due at the end of the week and over the weekend.
I'm sure people who plan on visiting this weekend won't mind me hoping that they'll be experiencing heavy snow...!
Most of the lifts at Zao Onsen are now operating.
Most areas of Zao Onsen are now at least part open but snow is pretty thin on the ground and patchy in lower areas of the resort.
The areas that remain 'closed' are Ryuzan, Omori and Kotan.
Official snow depths:
Utopia: 55cm
Chuo: 70cm
Paradise: 50cm
Uwanodai: 15cm
Zao Now 2015-2016 season |
Data as of Tuesday 5th January 2016 Total snowfall at base 124cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 16 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 22cm (on 27th December) November 2015 snowfall 22cm observed on 2 days December 2015 snowfall 96cm observed on 12 days January 2016 snowfall 6cm observed on 2 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.