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Zao Now: Wednesday 8th January 2025

  • Jan 8, 2025
  • 2 min read

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 20cm
Snowfall at base this season 223cm

Posted on Wednesday 8th January 2025 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


Morning from Zao.


We enjoyed some good snowfall yesterday. About 10cm within an hour starting around 7pm. The snow lightened but kept falling and we are expecting snow over the next few days.


It is a foggy kind of start, but visibility doesn't seem too bad.


Time to go check out the fresh snow!


Official snow depth (reported by ski area):

Yokokura area: 75cm

Uwanodai area: 70cm

Utopia area: 150cm

Chuo area: 130cm

Paradise area: 140cm

Summit area: 120cm


Lifts & courses:

The ski area is open as planned



Zao Now 2024-2025 season

Data as of Wednesday 8th January 2025 Total snowfall at base 223cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 30 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 21cm (on 6th December) November 2024 snowfall 18cm observed on 4 days December 2024 snowfall 162cm observed on 20 days January 2025 snowfall 43cm observed on 6 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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