Weekly Japan Forecast – First Big Snowstorm of the Season to hit on Friday

Written Thursday morning, 5^th February (Japan Standard Time)

The next few weeks will see the bulk of Japanese ski resorts opening their doors and expanding their terrain. Early-season snowfall has already blanketed at least the upper slopes of most resorts with a generous amount of snowfall for this time of year.

The first real big snowstorm of the season will begin this Friday. Heavy snowfall will continue through the weekend before winding down on Monday and Tuesday. A monster load of 50-150cm is expected to accumulate over central Honshu, with 25-75cm likely over northern Honshu and Hokkaido. This will get us off to a good start to the season, with another short, sharp storm expected to hit on Wednesday, bringing moderate totals.

Thursday 5^th to Sunday 8^th December

On Thursday, cool west-to-southwest winds will bring light snowfall, mainly in the 5-15+cm range, to northern Honshu and Hokkaido. Resorts in central Honshu will largely be sheltered from this, although the western side of the Northern Alps/Hida Range will pick this up. The snow will also be wet at low levels on Honshu due to marginal temps down there.

Friday will mark the start of the first big snowstorm of the season, a storm that will continue throughout the weekend, bringing moderate to heavy snowfalls and deep totals to much of the country.

The storm will be triggered by the passage of a cold front and low-pressure system and will be followed by freezing westerly winds, the coldest of which will arrive from late Friday with snow levels bottoming out. These winds will be strong over northern Honshu in particular, as well as on Hokkaido during Saturday.

Monday 9^th to Wednesday 11^th December

The weekend storm will slowly wind down on Monday and Tuesday, with snowfalls eventually trailing off and sunny skies appearing in some parts. These leftover snowfalls will leave an extra 5-15+cm for resorts in Northern Honshu and Hokkaido, but resorts dotted throughout the Echigo Range in the Niigata Prefecture, such as Hakkaisan, will see a larger moderate load of powder.

The next storm, a shorter and shaper one, will get started on Wednesday with the arrival of another frigid airmass off the continent. This time winds will be orientated more to the north-to-northwest, and will dump a moderate load of powder. Again, the highest totals will likely be found in the Niigata Prefecture before the storm winds down on Honshu during Thursday.

That’s all from me today, folks. Have a great week, and I’ll see you back here next Thursday for another rundown of all the highlights and snowlights for the following week.

Grasshopper