Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata New snowfall at base 0cm Snowfall at base this season 632cm Weather overview Sunny Wind Light Temperature - Visibility Perfect Posted on Sunday 17th March 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here . Yesterday was a fine day in Zao and this morning we have another clear start to the day - this time without any clouds at all. It's somewhat colder as well this morning to start with but no doubt will warm up. Icy conditions out early but will soften up quickly. So, fine spring Sunday! The resort have announced their plans for the remainder of the season. As things stand the top area of Zao plans to be open until Monday 6th May, but many lifts will close before then. Here's the latest. The following lifts will run through until 24th March: Onsen Number 3 Parallel A and B Onsen Zao Kokutai Pair Ryuzan Pair Karamatsu Pair Paradise Number 3 Pair Kurihime Number 2 Quad The following lifts will run through until 31st March: Onsen Number 4 Quad Sunrise Pair AB Nakamori Number 1 Triple Nakamori Number 2 Pair Diamond Number 1 Pair Diamond Number 2 Pair Oomori quad Yokokura Number 2 Pair Astraea Number 1 Pair Astraea Number 2 Pair Astraea Number 3 Pair The following lifts plan to be open through until 6th May: All the Ropeways Chuo Number 1 Pair AB (every day) Chuo Number 2 Pair AB (every day until 14th April, then 20th/21st April and 27th April until 6th May) Katakai Triple (every day until 14th April, then 20th/21st April, 27th-29th April, 3rd-6th May) Paradise Pair AB (every day until 14th April, then 20th/21st April and 27th April until 6th May) The Yokokura Number 1 Pair AB will remain open as long as there's enough snow. Zao Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Sunday 17th March 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 632cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 60 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 50cm (27th January and 25th February) November 2012 snowfall 3cm reported on 1 day December 2012 snowfall 150cm reported on 15 days January 2013 snowfall 243cm reported on 21 days February 2013 snowfall 218cm reported on 20 days March 2013 snowfall 18cm reported on 3 days Previous report Next report 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. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata New snowfall at base 10cm Snowfall at base this season 632cm Weather overview Cloud, light snow Wind Light Temperature - Visibility Fair Posted on Monday 11th March 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here . Negative numbers it is! And actually it's pretty cold this morning, it feels like we are back in winter again. What's more we have 10cm of new snow here in the village base area of Zao. Nice snow too. A marked difference, but a welcome one of course. It's yo-yo time though as tomorrow it is forecast to warm up once again for a few days. Before getting colder again after that. Seems like winter is giving it one last push and challenging spring before it really takes hold properly. More than the 10cm on the mountain of course, but very probably not enough to cover all the hardness under it so I expect varied conditions out there. Zao Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Monday 11th March 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 632cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 60 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 50cm (27th January and 25th February) November 2012 snowfall 3cm reported on 1 day December 2012 snowfall 150cm reported on 15 days January 2013 snowfall 243cm reported on 21 days February 2013 snowfall 218cm reported on 20 days March 2013 snowfall 18cm reported on 3 days Previous report Next report 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. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata New snowfall at base 0cm Snowfall at base this season 622cm Weather overview Cloud Wind Moderate Temperature - Visibility Variable Posted on Sunday 10th March 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here . Back to very un-winter like this morning as the thermometer was at 7C even a few hours ago. Even high up on the resort this morning it is as warm as 7C and at base now we are seeing temps of 11C. Easily the warmest morning of the year. It's a cloudy start to the day with most of the mountain hidden by clouds, though visibility on the runs isn't too limited by the looks of things. A moderate to strong spring warm wind as well. As today moves on it should quickly cool down and we'll be back in negative numbers overnight and tomorrow much colder, but it's a short cold snap as from Tuesday it will be warming up once again. Zao Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Sunday 10th March 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 622cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 59 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 50cm (27th January and 25th February) November 2012 snowfall 3cm reported on 1 day December 2012 snowfall 150cm reported on 15 days January 2013 snowfall 243cm reported on 21 days February 2013 snowfall 218cm reported on 20 days March 2013 snowfall 8cm reported on 2 days Previous report Next report 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. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata New snowfall at base 5cm Snowfall at base this season 622cm Weather overview Cloud Wind Light Temperature - Visibility Fair Posted on Sunday 3rd March 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here . 5cm of new snow overnight and after the winds of yesterday, glad to report only a light wind this morning and all of the mountain back open. I saw a bit of sun earlier on, but for now cloud is back though it is now snowing. A cold morning but it looks like we should expect some warm up starting tomorrow and gathering pace as the week goes on with positively balmy conditions by the end of the coming week. Zao Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Sunday 3rd March 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 622cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 59 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 50cm (27th January and 25th February) November 2012 snowfall 3cm reported on 1 day December 2012 snowfall 150cm reported on 15 days January 2013 snowfall 243cm reported on 21 days February 2013 snowfall 218cm reported on 20 days March 2013 snowfall 8cm reported on 2 days Previous report Next report 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. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata New snowfall at base 3cm Snowfall at base this season 617cm Weather overview Cloud, snow Wind Strong Temperature - Visibility OK Posted on Saturday 2nd March 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here . Rain last night. Never good. But, it is much colder this morning and we have a few cm of fresh snow. It is continuing to snow now - along with some strong winds which are unfortunately stopping some lifts from operating, including the top ropeway. It's a shame that people coming for the weekend will get these less than ideal conditions. Tomorrow should be much calmer. Zao Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Saturday 2nd March 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 617cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 58 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 50cm (27th January and 25th February) November 2012 snowfall 3cm reported on 1 day December 2012 snowfall 150cm reported on 15 days January 2013 snowfall 243cm reported on 21 days February 2013 snowfall 218cm reported on 20 days March 2013 snowfall 3cm reported on 1 day Previous report Next report 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. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata New snowfall at base 0cm Snowfall at base this season 614cm Weather overview Cloud Wind Calm Temperature - Visibility OK Posted on Friday 1st March 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here . Good morning from Zao Onsen and it's a cloudy one. No wind, decent visibility. And warm. Here in the village just before it was +4 degrees and up on the top of the mountain it's only getting down to around 0 degrees. So we'll be in the positive numbers over the whole mountain this morning. Strange looking forecast. Rain possible/probable later on, maybe/probably changing to snow by early tomorrow morning and strong winds forecast for the day tomorrow. Sunday is currently looking to be much calmer and so if you have a pick of the two, I would probably go with that day. There's just 3 days left for the evening "light up" ropeway operations. It's mad that we are already into March. Children can ride the lifts for the special price of 1000 yen tomorrow and Sunday and so we can probably expect a busy weekend in Zao. Zao Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Friday 1st March 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 614cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 57 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 50cm (27th January and 25th February) November 2012 snowfall 3cm reported on 1 day December 2012 snowfall 150cm reported on 15 days January 2013 snowfall 243cm reported on 21 days February 2013 snowfall 218cm reported on 20 days March 2013 snowfall 0cm Previous report Next report 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. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata New snowfall at base 0cm Snowfall at base this season 614cm Weather overview Cloud, sun Wind Calm Temperature - Visibility Very good Posted on Thursday 28th February 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here . As with many regions of Japan right now, the mild conditions continue. Just a bit of cloud this morning but mostly blue sky. A light breeze. Tomorrow is going to be the warmest of the lot and there is a good chance that rain will be falling. That may turn to snow overnight but not a huge amount expected. Strong winds forecast for Saturday too. It will have been a strange week with the huge snowfall and then this sudden rise in temperature. Got a feeling the weekend might throw up a few surprises. Would be great if they were good ones. Zao Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Thursday 28th February 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 614cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 57 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 50cm (27th January and 25th February) November 2012 snowfall 3cm reported on 1 day December 2012 snowfall 150cm reported on 15 days January 2013 snowfall 243cm reported on 21 days February 2013 snowfall 218cm reported on 20 days Previous report Next report 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. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata New snowfall at base 2cm Snowfall at base this season 466cm Weather overview Cloud Wind Light Temperature - Visibility Varied Posted on Wednesday 13th February 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here . Perhaps not as much as we hoped for overnight with just 2cm or so of snow in village which probably means 5-10cm in places on the mountain. A cloudy start to the day with the upper half of the mountain not visible from base areas but decent visibility on lower slopes. Just a light wind and quite mild this morning - just under freezing in village and up at the top of the resort it is only getting down to -5. Light snow perhaps on and off today. Tomorrow is forecast to be clearer with the sun out from early on. Zao Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Wednesday 13th February 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 466cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 45 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 50cm (27th January) November 2012 snowfall 3cm reported on 1 day December 2012 snowfall 150cm reported on 15 days January 2013 snowfall 243cm reported on 21 days February 2013 snowfall 70cm reported on 8 days Previous report Next report 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. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata New snowfall at base 0cm Snowfall at base this season 396cm Weather overview Sunny Wind Light Temperature - Visibility Excellent Posted on Friday 1st February 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here . It has been a stunner of a day so far here in Zao. Lovely clear blue skies all around. Amazing contrast with the white of the snow. A lot of tourists up top today too! More than a few of them will be finding themselves rather burnt this evening I think. Protection required! It was a cold start and about -5C but warming up as we enter the afternoon. Into positive numbers. We might get a spot or two of rain overnight but other than that clear conditions forecast for both tomorrow and Sunday. Possibly strong winds too. Remember that festival that I mentioned a few days back.... tomorrow night! Zao Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Friday 1st February 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 396cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 37 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 50cm (27th January) November 2012 snowfall 3cm reported on 1 day December 2012 snowfall 150cm reported on 15 days January 2013 snowfall 243cm reported on 21 days Previous report Next report 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. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata New snowfall at base 10cm Snowfall at base this season 394cm Weather overview Snow Wind Moderate Temperature - Visibility Variable Posted on Tuesday 29th January 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here . Beautiful weather yesterday in Zao, deep blue skies and the scenery looking just amazing. Good snow too. 10cm of snow greets us this morning in Zao and strong winds as well as heavy snow falling early on but it's less so now and I can even see some blue sky up there between the clouds. Snow is due today though so likely just a temporary thing. Even so once these clouds do move on we have clearer conditions forecast for the rest of the week and things due to get warm too. Well, relatively warm anyway. Zao Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Tuesday 29th January 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 394cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 36 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 50cm (27th January) November 2012 snowfall 3cm reported on 1 day December 2012 snowfall 150cm reported on 15 days January 2013 snowfall 241cm reported on 20 days Previous report Next report 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. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata New snowfall at base 50cm Snowfall at base this season 384cm Weather overview Clearing up Wind Moderate Temperature - Visibility Good Posted on Sunday 27th January 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here . I had good news yesterday, well this morning it is very good news. Some mad snowfall in the region brought over 50cm of fresh snow to Zao in the last 24 hours. All of a sudden we see Utopia on 240cm official snow depth. What's more conditions have eased off and while there's still a fair bit of cloud around the sun is out in places so decent visibility on mountain so we can really enjoy all this new snow. Strong winds were affecting the top Gondola but that seems to be not an issue now. Subject to change. Fantastic conditions though. Great stuff. Zao Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Sunday 27th January 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 384cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 35 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 50cm (27th January) November 2012 snowfall 3cm reported on 1 day December 2012 snowfall 150cm reported on 15 days January 2013 snowfall 231cm reported on 19 days Previous report Next report 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. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata New snowfall at base 1cm Snowfall at base this season 275cm Weather overview Fine some cloud Wind Light Temperature - Visibility Good Posted on Wednesday 16th January 2013 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here . Yesterday we had some clearer skies at times and this morning we start off with fast moving clouds but it is bright and the sun has been out at times. Clearing up? Just 1cm of snow to report since last night and a -6C start to the morning. A fine day indeed on the mountain. We are back to normal weekdays now and so for the most part it's fairly quiet out there. More than enough of Zao to spread people around. More snow likely tomorrow and Friday before clearer conditions over the weekend, according to the latest forecast. Zao Now 2012-2013 season Data as of Wednesday 16th January 2013 Total snowfall at base so far 275cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 28 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 30cm (9th, 26th December, 3rd and 15th January) November 2012 snowfall 3cm reported on 1 day December 2012 snowfall 150cm reported on 15 days January 2013 snowfall 122cm reported on 12 days Previous report Next report 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. About SnowJapan.com About the daily reporting on SnowJapan.com