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Zao Now: Wednesday 9th January 2019

  • Jan 9, 2019
  • 2 min read

Updated: Oct 6, 2025

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata


New snowfall at base 32cm
Snowfall at base this season 273cm

Posted on Wednesday 9th January 2019 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.


...and good numbers I can indeed report.


Heavy snowfall with me being able to report 32cm at my base measuring point. I know, the official snow depth numbers don't reflect that, but don't mind about that... there's a thick layer of fresh snow out there.


Whiteout and blowy conditions outside, I think lots of people will be waiting for things to calm down.


Perhaps some sun tomorrow. Conditions are going to be really great.


Operation info from official sources:


- All lifts operating apart from the Karamatsu pair and Yokokura Number 2 pair lifts

- All courses open


Official snow depths (as reported by resort):


- Summit area: 100cm

- Paradise area: 130cm

- Chuo area: 130cm

- Utopia area: 100cm

- Uwanodai area: 90cm

- Oomori area: 100cm



Zao Now 2018-2019 season

Data as of Wednesday 9th January 2019 Total snowfall at base 273cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 26 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 43cm (on 29th December) November 2018 snowfall 7cm observed on 3 days December 2018 snowfall 218cm observed on 18 days January 2019 snowfall 48cm observed on 5 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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