Niseko Hirafu, Japan - Hokkaido

Resort Info	Webcams	Snow Report	Historical Snow	Current Weather	Resort Reviews
6 Day Forecast (free) top: 1156m mid: 706m bot: 256m	2 Day Detail (subscribers) top: 1156m mid: 706m bot: 256m	9 Day Forecast (subscribers) top: 1156m mid: 706m bot: 256m	Piste Map	Weather Maps	Snowfinder

6 Day Weather Forecast for 1156 m altitude, issued (local time): 08 am 19 Jul 2008

	Days 0-3 Niseko Hirafu Weather Summary: Moderate rain (total 10.0mm), heaviest on Mon night . Very mild (max 17°C on Sun morning, min 11°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light.									Days 4-6 Niseko Hirafu Weather Summary: Heavy rain (total 81.0mm), heaviest during Tue afternoon . Very mild (max 17°C on Tue afternoon, min 12°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light.
	Sat 19 morn- ing	Sat 19 after- noon	Sat 19 night	Sun 20 morn- ing	Sun 20 after- noon	Sun 20 night	Mon 21 morn- ing	Mon 21 after- noon	Mon 21 night	Tue 22 morn- ing	Tue 22 after- noon	Tue 22 night	Wed 23 morn- ing	Wed 23 after- noon	Wed 23 night	Thu 24 morn- ing	Thu 24 after- noon	Thu 24 night
Wind (km/h)
Summary	rain shwrs	rain shwrs	clear	clear	some clouds	some clouds	some clouds	cloudy	mod. rain	heavy rain	heavy rain	heavy rain	light rain	rain shwrs	rain shwrs	rain shwrs	rain shwrs	cloudy
Snow cm	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Rain mm	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	7	14	25	27	4	4	1	2	4	-
Max °C	16	16	13	17	16	14	15	15	15	16	17	17	17	17	16	17	16	15
Min °C	14	15	12	16	15	11	15	14	14	16	16	16	16	16	14	17	16	12
WChill °C	14	15	12	16	15	11	15	14	13	15	15	15	15	15	13	17	15	11
Freezing level (m)	4100	4200	4150	4100	4300	4350	4550	4800	4750	4600	4500	4600	4500	4550	4250	4400	4450	4450
Sunrise	4:15	-	-	4:16	-	-	4:16	-	-	4:18	-	-	4:18	-	-	4:20	-	-
Sunset	-	19:09	-	-	19:09	-	-	19:08	-	-	19:07	-	-	19:07	-	-	19:06	-

The above table gives the weather forecast for Niseko Hirafu at the specific elevation of 1156 m. Our sophisticated weather models allow us to provide snow forecasts for the top, middle and bottom stations of Niseko Hirafu. To access the weather forecasts for the other elevations, use the tab navigation above the table. For a wider view of the weather, check out the Weather Map" of Japan.

NOTE ABOUT FREEZING LEVELS AND TEMPERATURES
The freezing level that we forecast Niseko Hirafu is the  free air freezing level. (More specifically, it is the uppermost free air freezing level). This means that all of the air above this elevation is below freezing however it does not necessarily imply that all of the air below it is above freezing.  We provide this because it best describes the level where falling snow first starts to turn to rain. On average, snowflakes only stay frozen for about 100 metres (300 feet) below the free air freezing level. That's because air temperatures usually increase steadily as you descend - but not always.  For example, a temperature inversion describes a pool of cold air near the ground with a layer of warmer air above it. This is a common occurrence in winter when the wind is light. Such pools of dense cold air can vary from a few metres to several kilometres deep and can persist from hours to several weeks. In an inversion, it can be simultaneously below freezing in a mountain valley, and also at a nearby summit, yet above freezing at some elevation in between. Most visitors to the Alps are very familiar with this. Such conditions can allow snow to fall much more than the usual 100 metres below the top freezing level, even reaching the valley, just as long as snow did not pass through enough warm air to melt. Otherwise, freezing rain or re-frozen soft hail (there is even a German word for it - graupel) reaches the valley instead. Our forecasts allow for these possibilities which is why you may see forecasts of snowfall and frost at elevations far below the free-air freezing level, or valley temperatures that are lower than summit temperatures. You may even see forecasts of rain to fall even though it is just below freezing at the surface - that happens if our model predicts that there is a deep warm layer just above. None of these are as contradictory as they may seem at first.

All of our temperature forecasts for Niseko Hirafu are for the ground, not the air. These can be very different to free-air temperatures, especially at night. This can lead to what looks like a contradiction. Because the ground is such a good radiator of heat (especially on clear nights when there is a snow cover and the wind is light) surface temperatures often fall more than far below the free air temperatures - sometimes by more than 10 degrees. On such occasions, the snowpack freezes at elevations that are far below the free air freezing level. For example, in the European Alps, snow tends to freeze in valleys on still clear and still nights  even if the free air freezing level is above 3000m simply because snow is so efficient radiating its heat away. In reality there are two freezing levels; one just above the snow surface and another at 3000m with a layer of warmer temperatures in between where the snow may not freeze at all. In summary, the reason we provide surface temperatures is because these determine the condition of the snowpack.

---