Zao Now: Thursday 7th January 2016
- Jan 7, 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 129cm
Posted on Thursday 7th January 2016 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.
Good morning from Zao Onsen where there's just another 1cm or so of snow on the ground since yesterday. There will be more up there on the courses.
Precious-as-gold snow that we need should be falling through today, though it's just light at the moment, and then as we get into the weekend it will be getting colder still (almost like mid-winter!).
If the forecast is correct, by the end of the weekend things should be looking very different. I really hope so!
Unfortunately with news of the snow situation man accommodations have been seeing cancellations etc. Not enough snow pretty much affects everyone. There's be smiles on faces when the snow arrives in style.
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, Kotan and the central run by the Nakamori lifts.
Official snow depths:
Utopia: 55cm
Chuo: 70cm
Paradise: 55cm
Uwanodai: 20cm
Zao Now 2015-2016 season |
Data as of Thursday 7th January 2016 Total snowfall at base 129cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 18 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 11cm observed on 4 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.