A return to classic deep winter on the way

January, 22nd 2018

A return to classic deep winter on the way

Niseko looks set to be blasted by another prolonged cold, snowy period over the coming week, and potentially longer.

With solid snowfall and temperatures expected to range between -15C to -20C for much of extended forecast period, we can expect excellent dry powder conditions.

The ultimate Niseko weather systems occur when a constant northwest airstream flows off Siberia, across the Sea of Japan, and onto Niseko, and remain for weeks at a time. Such an event occurred between mid-November and Christmas when it snowed on 27 out of 30 days after the resort opened on November 23.

Another bonus of this weather pattern is that winds are generally consistently light. This means there are fewer occasions when lifts need to go on wind hold than when short, wild storms blow through.

This current system doesn’t seem to be locked into such a holding pattern but fingers crossed we have a good few weeks of snow ahead.

So just as we hit the middle of peak season here in Niseko it looks like the winter of 2017/18 is going to keep on giving.

So far niseko.ne.jp’s official English language snow reporter 360niseko has recorded more than 8m of snow this season – with 6m of that being recorded before the end of 2017.

After a slower month, this bumper season looks set to continue, with cumulative snowfall looking to potentially 10m before January is out. Fasten your seatbelts!

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Image source: Snow-Forecast.com