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Zao Now: Sunday 8th December 2013

  • Dec 8, 2013
  • 2 min read

Updated: Oct 2, 2025

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 20cm
Snowfall at base this season 34cm

Posted on Sunday 8th December 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


Now this is better. About 20cm of fresh snow at base in the village here this morning in Zao. Nice and cold as well, with a temperature of about -3 degrees as of 9am. Feels like winter. Still as the snow builds up we are still very limited in lift openings.


The resort traditional opening ceremony went ahead yesterday morning as planned. Local tv cameras were there as well as a few mascots looking suitably cute.


A sort of cloudy morning but looks like it will end up being a fairly clear day.


Official snow depths (8th December 13)

Utopia: 45cm

Chuo: 50cm

Paradise: 40cm

Uwanodai: 20cm


Operating lifts (8th December 13)

All Ropeways (Skycable, Zao Chuo Ropeway, Zao Ropeway) operating.

Chuo Number 1 Pair

Zao Paradise Pair lift

Utopia Number 1 Pair lift



Zao Now 2013-2014 season

Data as of Sunday 8th December 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 34cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 3 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 20cm (on 8th December) November 2013 snowfall 12cm observed on 1 day December 2013 snowfall 22cm 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.


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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