Weather
in Yamagata City
Yamagata
City is situated in the mountains of northern Honshu, the main island of
Japan, at 38°N, a latitude
approximately level with (heading west) Pyongyang, Beijing, Tashkent, Athens,
Palermo, Lisbon, Washington DC, Colorado Springs and Sacramento. The city lies
in a valley running north-south, hemmed in on the east and west by mountain
ranges rising to 2000m. The valley floor lies at an altitude of about 400-500m.
Its altitude and inland location, as well as the effects of the Asian monsoon
system, make for a large extreme in temperature between summer and winter, with
daytime highs in summer regularly exceeding 30° C, often 35°C, and nighttime
lows in winter consistently below freezing. Precipitation can fall at any time
of year, although April and October usually have the greatest number of dry
days. The year can be conveniently divided into five seasons and these are
usually very clearly defined, especially the transition from V to I, which
often occurs in the space of just one week and brings a heightened sense of
‘spring’.
I. The Pleasant Part 1: April & May.
Mostly dry, often sunny, humidity low, little haze, nights cool, days warm.
Cherry blossom time is mid to late April.
II. The Rains: June & July:
The rains peak early to mid July by which time it is raining nearly every day
and often misty. June starts warm, July finishes hot. Humidity gradually rises
to uncomfortable levels by late July, nights get warmer and stickier. Cloudy
days become the norm and what few sunny days there are often hazy.
III. The Unpleasant: August. Best
avoided unless cold-blooded. Air stagnates in the valley, little wind, days
consistently very hot and humid. Occasional thunderstorms. Warm, sometimes
uncomfortable nights.
IV. The Pleasant Part II: September
– November. Mostly dry, often sunny. Nights still pleasant early
on, but cold by late November. Leaves turn late October, first frosts shortly
thereafter. Humidity still on the high side in September, but dropping by early
October. Risk of catching the tail end of a typhoon early on, but these usually
just bring heavy rain rather than high winds.
V. The Snows: December – March.
First snow falls mid November, starts to lie early December. By Christmas it is
snowing practically every day and this lasts until mid March. Snow depths vary
from year to year but usually peak around mid February at 40-50cm. Falls of
over 30cm in 24 hours are not unknown. Surrounding ski resorts usually have
pistes of 300-400cm. Few sunny days. Humidity very low. Snow usually melts very
quickly from around the middle of March.
For those who prefer statistics to woolly terms such as ‘The Pleasant
Part II’, try this (30-year averages based on information culled from the Japanese Meteorology Agency):
|
|
Average High °C |
Average Low °C |
Chance of a Dry Day |
Daily Average Sun Hours |
Average Snow Depth (cm) |
Monthly Snowfall Total (cm) |
% of mornings with >1cm lying snow |
Monthly Precipitation Total (mm) |
|
|
January |
early |
4 |
-3 |
15% |
2.7 |
13 |
109 |
85% |
75 |
|
mid |
3 |
-4 |
30% |
2.9 |
18 |
85% |
|||
|
late |
2 |
-4 |
20% |
3.0 |
23 |
95% |
|||
|
February |
early |
3 |
-4 |
30% |
3.2 |
28 |
93 |
99% |
70 |
|
mid |
4 |
-4 |
25% |
3.5 |
26 |
95% |
|||
|
late |
4 |
-3 |
30% |
4.0 |
23 |
80% |
|||
|
March |
early |
6 |
-2 |
40% |
4.5 |
16 |
37 |
55% |
67 |
|
mid |
8 |
-1 |
45% |
4.8 |
8 |
40% |
|||
|
late |
10 |
0 |
50% |
5.1 |
3 |
20% |
|||
|
April |
early |
13 |
2 |
55% |
5.6 |
0.5 |
1 |
10% |
68 |
|
mid |
16 |
4 |
60% |
5.9 |
0 |
2% |
|||
|
late |
18 |
6 |
60% |
6.3 |
0 |
1% |
|||
|
May |
early |
20 |
8 |
60% |
6.4 |
|
|
|
81 |
|
mid |
21 |
10 |
60% |
6.4 |
|
|
|||
|
late |
23 |
11 |
60% |
6.8 |
|
|
|||
|
June |
early |
25 |
13 |
65% |
6.3 |
|
|
|
103 |
|
mid |
25 |
15 |
50% |
5.1 |
|
|
|||
|
late |
25 |
16 |
50% |
4.2 |
|
|
|||
|
July |
early |
26 |
18 |
50% |
4.3 |
|
|
|
144 |
|
mid |
28 |
19 |
40% |
4.6 |
|
|
|||
|
late |
30 |
20 |
65% |
6.0 |
|
|
|||
|
August |
early |
31 |
21 |
60% |
6.2 |
|
|
|
149 |
|
mid |
30 |
20 |
55% |
6.1 |
|
|
|||
|
late |
29 |
19 |
60% |
5.6 |
|
|
|||
|
September |
early |
27 |
18 |
55% |
4.6 |
|
|
|
134 |
|
mid |
25 |
16 |
45% |
4.0 |
|
|
|||
|
late |
23 |
13 |
55% |
4.2 |
|
|
|||
|
October |
early |
21 |
11 |
60% |
4.1 |
|
|
|
76 |
|
mid |
19 |
9 |
55% |
4.2 |
|
|
|||
|
late |
17 |
6 |
50% |
4.3 |
|
|
|||
|
November |
early |
14 |
5 |
50% |
3.8 |
0 |
7 |
2% |
81 |
|
mid |
12 |
3 |
45% |
3.2 |
0 |
5% |
|||
|
late |
10 |
1 |
30% |
2.9 |
1 |
15% |
|||
|
December |
early |
8 |
0 |
35% |
2.8 |
2 |
59 |
20% |
77 |
|
mid |
6 |
-1 |
25% |
2.6 |
5 |
55% |
|||
|
late |
5 |
-2 |
30% |
2.8 |
8 |
75% |
|||
Records
Highest temperature 40.8°C 25
July, 1933 (also the national record
for Japan)
Lowest temperature -20.0°C
29 January, 1891
Most rain in a day 218 mm 27
August, 1913
Most rain in a month 441 mm
August, 1998
Least rain in a month 5 mm
April, 1994
Deepest snow 113 cm 8
January, 1981
Links
one week forecast for Yamagata City in English, or in Japanese
current temperature maps,
rainfall
and snowdepth
charts in Japanese
a weather
chart for Japan
maintained
by Mark
Irwin updated: 26 May, 2006