Snow and weather reports posted on Monday 18th January 2021
Madarao Now!
Wednesday 14th March 2012, 7:32am
Weather conditions:
Sunny blue skies
New snowfall:
--
Snow depth:
--
After the snowfall of the night before last and the nice conditions yesterday we once again wake up to sunny skies over Madarao. Not a cloud to be seen over the mountain early on, with deep blue contrasting with the white of the slopes. Oh yes the stage is set for another fine day. No new snow, but there will still be some left over from our haul yesterday and it is a cold start to the day as well which is good.
We might just get to see some snowfall overnight tonight, but after tomorrow it looks like Friday and into the weekend will see warmer conditions. There's even a chance of rain on Saturday, but let's just hope that goes away next time we look at the forecast!
Lifts currently operating: All lifts and runs due to be open today Official snow depth: 270cm Read more ...
Naeba Now!
Wednesday 14th March 2012, 7:43am
Weather conditions:
Clear blue skies
New snowfall:
--
Snow depth:
--
Amazing day out on the slopes yesterday. March sure can give us the goods when it wants to!
And once again conditions take a 180 degree turn (no, it's not that hot honest). After the snow of yesterday, we have bright blue skies above both Naeba and Kagura early on this morning for what seems set to be a very fine day. A very cold start to the day.
We have a chance of light snow tonight and then temperatures are due to get a bit warmer for the weekend. For now though after that snow load yesterday conditions should remain good.
As you may know, it's 'White Day' today. The day when men give their Valentine a return chocolate, or indeed cookies. To celebrate this, ahem, tradition Naeba are selling special 1 day pair tickets today for 8000 yen and the first 500 ladies to turn up apparently are going to get some cookies. What more could you want?!
Resort Operations, 14th March (subject to change) Naeba: All courses open apart from Splash Bowl, Takenokoyama No2 course and Mens Slalom course. Kagura: Open as normal Official snow depths Naeba: 280cm Kagura: 380cm
It is a beautiful start to the day here in Yuzawa. Blue skies, hardly any clouds, the sun shining down.
Yesterday it was snowing for most of the day though eased off somewhat in the afternoon and not a whole lot of cm to report since then. After a cold night when it dipped down to around -8 degrees, early on the sun is out and we will likely see a high temperature of around +3 degrees today. The forecast is for sun all the way through the day. Possible snowfall early tomorrow morning and during the day tomorrow, though I don't suspect it will be anything major.
Still due to warm up around Friday and over the weekend. No real snowfall there but if we are unlucky we might get some rain on Saturday. Hopefully that will be avoided.
Yesterday turned into a generally fine day and the sun is out this morning leaving us in no doubt as to what kind of day we are in for. This is the kind of day that makes spring fun. Not a cloud to be seen out there this morning with blue skies and a great blue/white contrast going on. The snow from the other day is still keeping conditions decent as well, so no complaints there. It is cold as well this morning after a cold night though of course it will likely warm up during the day but probably stay in the minus.
Clouds are due back tonight with possible snow tomorrow. Friday to Monday though we are expecting warmer temperatures but soon after that there is promise of another potential cold snap coming our way.
Nighta operations this evening planned at the following resort area:
- Ichinose Family
Official resort snow depths as of Wednesday 14th March 2012 AM:
Good morning and it is snowing here in Niseko early on. It doesn't look like it will be very sustained, but it's really nice to get a sense of winter again of course.
Yesterday we saw some warm temperatures and sun/clouds all day and it warmed up to about 3 degrees at the base. There were quite a bit of people around the slopes enjoying the spring conditions.
The only change in backcountry advice is today may just be a bit worse visibility. There's not a lot of fresh snow out there so the south facing slopes will likely be pretty bad.
Local forecasts are calling for a warm front followed by some snow and cool temperatures. As it looks right now, Saturday should be the warm one. Hopefully after that the amount of snow the storm brings will be enough to cover the hard spots where the freeze-thaw snow is. It looks like we could see quite a bit of snow mid-month. As mentioned yesterday at the moment we are below the average for March compared to last year, so it would be nice to catch up on that.
Grand Hirafu / Hanazono: Top - 405cm Bottom - 200cm
Sun and blue skies in Minakami this morning. Complete change from the heavy snow of yesterday. There are still pockets of fresh snow to be found but the powder lovers were out in force yesterday enjoying what could be one of the last big dumps of the winter. It is a cold one today though no wind around so expect the snow to be in great condition.
It looks like it may cloud over again tomorrow with more blue skies on Friday. Warmer temperatures over the weekend with the possibility of rain/snow on Sunday. Temperatures are due to drop again early next week with some more light dustings forecast. Read more ...
Hakuba Now!
Wednesday 14th March 2012, 10:39am
Weather conditions:
Clear skies, bluebird
New snowfall:
--
Snow depth:
--
After that snowy start to the day yesterday, it ended up generally being a cloudy one. Very fine conditions out on the mountain making for a great March day on the slopes.
This morning it is a beautiful start to the day in Hakuba. Those amazing snowy mountains contrasting with a mostly clear blue sky background - just beautiful. Just in the last hour or so a few clouds have started to form above the mountain line in places, but still it is very much a blue sky day. Sunscreen definitely recommended.
The air is pretty cold as the wind is coming down from north. It was very cold overnight - down to minus double digits - and it is a cold start to the day but will probably warm up to about +2 later on this afternoon. The snow quality was great out on the slopes yesterday and it should be really nice this morning too, almost feels like mid winter again.
It will probably be clear all day today, but cloud over later on tonight and we may have some snowfall overnight into tomorrow. Tomorrow should be keeping things cold but after that temperatures are likely to rise into the weekend. There might even be rain falling lower down at least on Saturday but there's hopefully time for that forecast to change and us avoid that. Beyond that looking quite promising for early in the week snow-wise.
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Official snow depths and operations @ Wednesday 14th March 2012 AM:
Hakuba Goryu: No fresh snowfall this morning. All lifts and runs scheduled to be open today. Official snow depths: Alps daira - 275cm; Toomi - 150cm; Iimori - 115cm
Hakuba 47: Hakuba 47 is no new snowfall this morning. All courses open, all lifts except Line D operating. Official snow depth: Upper - 243cm Lower - 160cm
Happo-one: Ski lifts/courses: All lifts apart from Usagidaira pair, Happo No1 pair, Central pair, Shirakaba No1 pair moving today. Official snow depth: Usagidaira - 220cm; Sakka - 80cm; Nakiyama - 100cm.
Hakuba Cortina: No new snowfall morning. All lifts apart from No7 pair moving and most courses open. Official snow depth: Upper - 357cm Lower - 225cm
Hakuba Norikura: Official snow depth: 180cm
Hakuba Iwatake: Village Side (lower slopes) plan to be open until 1st April (upper slopes open well beyond that date). Official snow depth: Upper - 190cm Lower - 90cm
Hakuba Sanosaka: 150cm
Hakuba Minekata: Now closed for the season Read more ...
Zao Now!
Wednesday 14th March 2012, 11:57am
Weather conditions:
Cloud, blue sky, sunny
New snowfall:
--
Snow depth:
--
A few more cm of snow to report since yesterday but this morning I can see lots of blue sky up above and it is a fine day in Zao. Lots of cloud gathering at the moment actually and fast moving as well so within a short time it could be all clouded over. The forecast actually tell us to expect sunny spells with cloud moving in later on in particular and we might see a bit of new snowfall by tomorrow morning.
After today a few more days of warmer conditions are lined up before getting colder once again early next week. For now though it is nice and cold and still feels winter-y, so no complaints there.
Conditions out on the slopes are pretty good too at the moment, especially higher up.
Official snow depths (14th March 12) Utopia - 265cm Chuo - 230cm Paradise - 265cm Uwanodai - 180cm
Operating lifts (14th March 12) All Ropeways (Skycable, Zao Chuo Ropeway, Zao Ropeway) operating. All the runs at Zao are open. Read more ...
Nozawa Onsen Now!
Wednesday 14th March 2012, 11:59am
Weather conditions:
Sunny
New snowfall:
--
Snow depth:
--
Another gorgeous start to the day here in Nozawa. Not a cloud in the sky and wind also pretty non-existent. Cold temps up top to start the day at -11 degrees but has been warming up pretty quickly with all this glorious sunshine.
Yesterday was an great day on the mountain with a foot of fresh, sunshine in the morning and more snow falling through the day. There were fresh tracks for the taking all day.
Looking ahead we should get some more snow tonight and into tomorrow. Then Friday should be relatively clear again followed by a spike in temps with the southerly change.
That may bring some rain down low but still quite a bit of snow for up top on the radar over the next week.
Don't forget White day today, which is kind of like Valentines day but for the girls. Free Chocolate fondue on the slopes at Hikage... oishii!
The snow fall for Furano Now is measure in Kitanomine village. There was a dusting overnight in the village and about 2cm on the ski area itself. The snow is in very good condition today with a little sprinkling of new powder on a firm packaed powder base and no icy areas. The sun is out with blue sky all around and little in the way of wind.
During March there are race competitions being held on Furano Resort. The following courses are closed for the competitions:
It has been a beautiful day in Myoko; clear blue skies, sparkling white mountains, and just a few wispy clouds to add a little perspective. I've often said in these reports that I prefer a day when the snow is really coming down, but a day like today is one to jsut go out and savor (which makes it completely painful to be desk-bound today.....).
Take a little care in the backcountry; a senior member of the community here got a good scare (and a bit of a fast journey down the slope) in a slide earlier in the week, and the warming snow on top of a really hard old layer could mean some sliding. Hopefully things will consolidate with time, but it looks like more snow is coming.
