Yamagata
山形38°15′ N 140°21′ EJMA1991-20203.3 to 22.6 °C
Table view
| Month | High °C | Low °C | Mean °C | Rain mm | Rain days | Snow depth cm | New snow cm | Sun h | Humidity % | Wind | m/s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3.3 | -3.1 | -0.1 | 87.8 | 15.7 | 40 | 103 | 79.6 | 81 | SSW | 1.6 |
| Feb | 4.4 | -3.1 | 0.4 | 63 | 12.2 | 47 | 79 | 99.6 | 77 | SSW | 1.7 |
| Mar | 9.1 | -0.3 | 4 | 72.1 | 11.5 | 22 | 35 | 140.4 | 69 | SSW | 1.9 |
| Apr | 16.4 | 4.7 | 10.2 | 63.9 | 9.2 | 2 | 2 | 175.9 | 62 | N | 2.1 |
| May | 22.6 | 10.7 | 16.2 | 74.5 | 8.7 | – | 0 | 196.5 | 64 | N | 2 |
| Jun | 25.9 | 15.7 | 20.3 | 104.8 | 9.9 | – | – | 165 | 71 | N | 1.8 |
| Jul | 29.1 | 20 | 23.9 | 187.2 | 12.7 | – | – | 144.5 | 76 | N | 1.7 |
| Aug | 30.5 | 20.9 | 25 | 153 | 10.5 | – | – | 171.8 | 75 | ESE | 1.7 |
| Sep | 25.8 | 16.6 | 20.6 | 123.8 | 10.1 | – | – | 136.6 | 77 | N | 1.6 |
| Oct | 19.5 | 9.8 | 14.1 | 105.1 | 9.6 | – | – | 132.1 | 77 | SSW | 1.5 |
| Nov | 12.6 | 3.6 | 7.7 | 74.4 | 11.4 | 3 | 4 | 102.2 | 78 | SSW | 1.6 |
| Dec | 6.1 | -0.7 | 2.4 | 97.2 | 15.2 | 26 | 66 | 73.8 | 81 | SSW | 1.6 |
Reading the seasons
Station
JMA's Yamagata station (block 47588) stands at 152.5 m in Yamagata city, on the basin floor below Mt. Zao. Zao Onsen and its ropeways sit much higher up the mountain, so expect colder air there than these figures show. JMA's Zaosan station stopped observing in 2009, which leaves Yamagata as the nearest station with full normals. Every value is JMA's 1991–2020 normal.
Winter
January and February share the coldest lows at −3.1 °C, with highs of 3.3 °C and 4.4 °C. The city gets 103 cm of new snow in January. Its normal deepest snow peaks at 47 cm in February.
Spring
Highs climb from 9.1 °C in March to 22.6 °C in May, and May is the sunniest month at 196.5 hours. Humidity drops to its yearly low of 62% in April.
Volcano
Mt. Zao is an active volcano that JMA monitors. Check the current alert level on JMA's Zao page before heading up: https://www.data.jma.go.jp/vois/data/sendai/212_Zaozan/212_index.html
SnowSeries
Two snow series come from JMA's normals. snowDepthMax is the month's deepest snow on the ground in centimetres (最深積雪), and freshSnow is the month's total new snowfall in centimetres (降雪の深さ合計).
Rain
Rain days count the days with 1 mm or more of precipitation.
Wind
The windDir field holds JMA's most frequent wind direction (最多風向) for each month as the compass point the wind blows from.
Quick answers about Yamagataよくある質問
What is the weather like in Yamagata in January to February and April to May?
In January to February and April to May, Yamagata averages daily highs of 3.3 to 22.6 °C and lows of -3.1 to 10.7 °C, with 63 to 88 mm of rain a month, by the Japan Meteorological Agency's 1991-2020 normals. The most frequent wind in January comes from the SSW at a mean 1.6 m/s.
Which month is warmest in Yamagata?
August is the warmest month in Yamagata, with an average daily high of 30.5 °C, by the Japan Meteorological Agency's 1991-2020 normals.
Which month is wettest in Yamagata?
July is the wettest month in Yamagata, with 187.2 mm of rain on average, by the Japan Meteorological Agency's 1991-2020 normals.
In the journal and guides
Read more about Yamagata特集
Practical guide · 6 min read
What does JaPow mean?
JaPow is skier slang for Japan's powder snow, a blend of Japan and pow. The snow comes from cold northwesterly winds that cross the Sea of Japan and unload on the mountains facing it, with January the snowiest month at every JMA station we keep near a ski area.
Practical guide · 9 min read
When is the best time to ski in Japan?
Mid-January to the end of February brings the most snow on Honshu and in Tohoku. Book around New Year and the 2027 holiday weekends, or wait for March and April, when the days run long and spring prices kick in.