The Grasshopper – The Latest Snow Forecast
DETAILED FORECAST
Now that the Australian season is over, The Grasshopper’s Aussie forecasts have finished for the year. He’s having a couple of months R&R and will be back in December with his Japan and North America forecasts.
And, of course, Australia’s best snow forecasts will resume in June 2025.
Now that the New Zealand’s snow season is over for South Island resorts, The Grasshopper’s Kiwi forecasts have finished for the year. He’s having a couple of months R&R and will be back in December with his Japan and North America forecasts.
And, of course, New Zealand’s best snow forecasts will resume in June 2025.
Weekly Japan Forecast – First Big Snowstorm of the Season to hit on Friday
Written Thursday morning, 5th 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 5th to Sunday 8th 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 9th to Wednesday 11th 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
Weekly North America Forecast – Quiet, Dry Spell Ends as Storm Rolls Down from the Northwest
Written Wednesday afternoon, 4th December (Pacific Standard Time)
After big snowfalls through mid-November, the North American snow season got off to an incredible start. Things dried up late in the month, and we’ve since had a long run of fine, bluebird days.
The dry spell will finally be broken on Friday and this weekend as a storm rolls down from the northwest. Temperatures will start warm with elevated snow levels in western Canada and the Cascades, but as the storm spreads southwards through the Rockies, things will turn much colder.
The storm will eventually dry and clear out Wednesday, leaving mainly light to moderate accumulations, but with heavier totals possible in British Columbia, the northern US Rockies and the Front Range of Colorado.
Thursday 5th to Sunday 8th December
The quiet, dry spell over western North America will finally break on Friday with a storm rolling down from Alaska over the Canadian west and into the northern Cascades. Warm winds from the southwest will bring moderate to heavy falls of rain and high-level snow.
Fortunately, temperatures and snow levels will drop over the weekend as the storm spreads southeast over the southern Cascades and northern US Rockies where mostly light-moderate totals of around 10-30+cm are expected. Snowfalls will gradually dry out from the north and west on Sunday due to this colder airmass, while light snowfalls also reach down into northern Utah and Colorado that evening.
Monday 9th to Wednesday 11th December
On Monday and Tuesday, as the cold airmass continues to push southwards, lingering light, scattered snowfalls over the Rockies of Canada and the northern US will continue to spread southwards through Colorado and into New Mexico. The highest totals for this period will likely show up along the Front Range of Colorado, where up to 20-40cm could fall.
The North American west will once again dry out on Wednesday as high pressure settles in for some cool, sunny days.
That’s all from me today, folks. See you back here same time next week for another rundown of all the highlights and snowlights of the following week.
Grasshopper
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Who is The Grasshopper ?
The Grasshopper. Some say he hatched one summer on a Himalayan plateau. As cold Autumn winds set in, he stumbled upon a scrap of goretex shed by some unfortunate climber and turned it into the smallest snowsuit ever. Then he strapped himself into a nearby leaf and carved his way down the mountains, hitching a ride with some hikers back to civilisation.
Now Mountainwatch’s resident meteorology sensei, this season we can expect a lot from the little critter. His beloved monthly outlooks across Australia and New Zealand over the southern hemisphere winter are being replaced with outlooks for both Japan and North America over November and December leading into the northern hemisphere winter. From there, the little critter will go into overdrive producing weekly forecasts for Japan and North America from December through to March. No doubt he’ll be run off his feet, so it’s a good thing he has six.
