top of page

Zao Now: Tuesday 6th March 2018

  • Mar 6, 2018
  • 2 min read

Updated: Oct 6, 2025

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 3cm
Snowfall at base this season 745cm

Posted on Tuesday 6th March 2018 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


Rain happened, I'm afraid.


Never nice to see in winter.


The good news is that it turned into snow overnight and there has been a few cm on the ground. Not enough to cover the damage done by the rain surely, but good to see all the same.


There's some blue sky on show now too so it feels like it is clearing up. And finer weather is forecast for tomorrow too.


Friday is looking ominous. (Heavy) rain again, but hopefully followed by snow on Saturday. Forecasts can change, and hopefully that one will.


In the meantime I am going to enjoy this nice weather with a 'spring ski' mindset.


Lifts and course info:


- All lifts open as planned

- All areas open as planned

- Note: the Karamatsu pair lift has now closed for the season


Official snow depths:


- Summit area: 215cm

- Paradise area: 240cm

- Chuo area: 230cm

- Utopia area: 230cm

- Uwanodai area: 160cm

- Oomori area: 160cm



Zao Now 2017-2018 season

Data as of Tuesday 6th March 2018 Total snowfall at base 745cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 63 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 42cm (on 12th February) November 2017 snowfall 66cm observed on 5 days December 2017 snowfall 193cm observed on 19 days January 2018 snowfall 275cm observed on 21 days February 2018 snowfall 195cm observed on 15 days March 2018 snowfall 16cm 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.



bottom of page