Climate and average weather in Kesennuma

In Kesennuma, the summers are humid, warm, showery, and mostly cloudy and the winters are cold, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: early May to late October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Kesennuma typically varies from -2°C to 26°C, and is rarely below -7°C or above 31°C. August is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Kesennuma for warm-weather activities is from early May to late October.

Hottest
Aug
26°
Coldest
Jan
-2°
Wettest
Sep
171 mm
Driest
Feb
45 mm
Rain / yr
1285 mm
132 wet days
Daylight
9.3–14.7 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
14 m
38.9°N
Clearest
Nov
52% cloud

Kesennuma is city in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.

Density
184/km²
people per km²
Founded
1953

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Kesennuma weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around early May to late October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Kesennuma, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 3.4 months, from June 17 to September 28, with daily high temperatures above 21°C. The hottest month of the year in Kesennuma is August, with an average high of 26°C and low of 21°C.

The cool season lasts 3.4 months, from December 4 to March 17, with daily high temperatures below 8°C. The coldest month of the year in Kesennuma is January, with an average low of -2°C and high of 4°C.

Days typically run about 6°C warmer than nights year-round.

-10°10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan4-2
Feb4-2
Mar80
Apr135
May1811
Jun2115
Jul2419
Aug2621
Sep2317
Oct1811
Nov125
Dec60

How hot and cold Kesennuma really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -8°C (around January 29), with roughly 132 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C), worst in January.

-10°10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan44-7-2
Feb44-7-2
Mar88-40
Apr131335
May17181011
Jun21211515
Jul24241919
Aug26262121
Sep23231717
Oct18181011
Nov121225
Dec66-40

Average hourly temperature in Kesennuma

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on August afternoons, near 26°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -2°C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Kesennuma weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / -2°497.24.89.60.0
Feb / -2°457.44.910.50.0
Mar / 9210.84.411.71.2
Apr13° / 10011.21.1133.5
May18° / 11°11611.7014.15.3
Jun21° / 15°12612.1014.75.7
Jul24° / 19°16415.6014.45.7
Aug26° / 21°15414.2013.55.8
Sep23° / 17°17113.7012.35.9
Oct18° / 11°14010.40115.6
Nov12° / 708.60.39.93.3
Dec / 598.93.29.30.5

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Kesennuma gets about 1285 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 4.1 months, from around Jun 4 to Oct 7, peaking in July at about 53% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jan 8.

September is the wettest month by volume, with 171 mm over about 14 wet days; February is the driest, with 45 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJul 10 · 53%Jan 8 · 24%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan247
Feb277
Mar3411
Apr3811
May3712
Jun4212
Jul4916
Aug4614
Sep4614
Oct3310
Nov299
Dec289

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Kesennuma collects about 1285 mm of rain across 132 wet days — roughly 107 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. September is the wettest month with 171 mm, while February is the driest at just 45 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 38% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0255075100125150175200JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec4945921001161261641541711407059
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan4975
Feb4575
Mar92114
Apr100111
May116120
Jun126120
Jul164160
Aug154140
Sep171140
Oct140100
Nov7090
Dec5993

Snow in Kesennuma

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Kesennuma averages about 19 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Nov 20 to Apr 27 — about 5.2 months.

February is snowiest, with roughly 5 days of snow and an estimated 28 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 95 cm of snow.

02468JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonFeb 9
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan527
Feb528
Mar423
Apr14
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov01
Dec311

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Kesennuma, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around October 12 and lasts for 6.6 months, ending around May 1. The clearest month is January, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 60% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around May 2 and lasts for 5.4 months, ending around October 11. The cloudiest month is July, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 79% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan 5 · 61%Jul 9 · 19%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastclearercloudierclearer
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan6040
Feb5446
Mar4951
Apr4852
May3961
Jun2674
Jul2179
Aug2872
Sep3367
Oct4753
Nov5941
Dec5743

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 10, brings about 14 h 42 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 18 min — a swing of roughly 5 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.66:564:30
Feb10.56:345:03
Mar11.75:535:34
Apr13.05:036:04
May14.14:266:33
Jun14.74:136:55
Jul14.44:256:54
Aug13.54:526:24
Sep12.35:215:35
Oct11.05:504:48
Nov9.96:244:14
Dec9.36:514:08

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Kesennuma averages about 8 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 3 and 13 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.7 months, from around Oct 8 to Feb 28. The sunniest month is November, with roughly 12 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is July, down near 3 sunny days — about 74% fewer than the November peak.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedNov 513 daysJul 113 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan11Mixed
Feb9Mixed
Mar8Gloomy
Apr9Mixed
May8Gloomy
Jun4Gloomy
Jul3Gloomy
Aug5Gloomy
Sep6Gloomy
Oct10Mixed
Nov12Mixed
Dec11Mixed

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Kesennuma, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 3.6 months, from around June 12 to September 29. The muggiest month is August, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 92% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 30 to June 11, and April is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecApr 11 · 100%Aug 11 · 6%oppressivemuggycomfortablehumiddrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan10000000
Feb10000000
Mar10000000
Apr9910000
May88111000
Jun303627600
Jul2133138160
Aug171937361
Sep1925262190
Oct77166100
Nov9910000
Dec10000000

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in Kesennuma is typically calm, near 11 km/h, and varies moderately with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.1 months, from around Oct 30 to May 2. The windiest month is January, averaging about 14 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 3 to Oct 29, with July the calmest month at about 8 km/h.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeJan 4 · 15 km/hJul 28 · 8 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan14light breeze
Feb14light breeze
Mar13light breeze
Apr12light breeze
May10calm
Jun9calm
Jul8calm
Aug8calm
Sep10calm
Oct11calm
Nov12calm
Dec14light breeze

Hazard calendar for Kesennuma

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

Kesennuma sits in the Pacific typhoon belt; the season peaks July–October.

Pacific typhoon
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Best time to visit Kesennuma

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Kesennuma throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around mid May, Kesennuma is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Kesennuma for general outdoor tourist activities is from early May to late October, with a peak score in the last week of September.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 26 · 6.0

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan0.0poor
Feb0.0poor
Mar1.2poor
Apr3.5poor
May5.3fair
Jun5.7good
Jul5.7good
Aug5.8good
Sep5.9good
Oct5.6good
Nov3.3poor
Dec0.6poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Kesennuma for hot-weather activities is from mid July to mid September, with a peak score in the first week of August.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 4 · 5.7

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Kesennuma, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around August (highs near 26°C), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 4°C), pack a warm layer and a heavy coat.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In August, Kesennuma sees daytime highs around 26°C and nights near 21°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: light clothes and sun protection. About 14 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Kesennuma

Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.

The sea offshore is warmest in August at about 22°C and coldest in March near 7°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Jul 21 to Oct 3 — about 2.5 months when the water holds above 20°C.

5°10°15°20°25°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan11Bracing
Feb8Bracing
Mar7Bracing
Apr9Bracing
May12Bracing
Jun17Cool
Jul20Cool
Aug22Refreshing
Sep22Refreshing
Oct19Cool
Nov16Cool
Dec13Bracing

UV index (midday) in Kesennuma by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Kesennuma peaks around August 18 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highVery highHighModerateLowAug 18UV 9Jan 1UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr6High
May8Very high
Jun8Very high
Jul7High
Aug9Very high
Sep7Very high
Oct5Moderate
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Low

Average hourly UV index in Kesennuma

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in August the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 7.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 4.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb00
Mar3.50
Apr60
May7.54.5
Jun84
Jul73
Aug7.54.5
Sep6.53.5
Oct4.50
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Kesennuma by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Kesennuma is worst in April — around 19 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.2× the cleanest month (December, 9 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodApr 1319 µg/m³Dec 179 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan10Good
Feb13Moderate
Mar18Moderate
Apr19Moderate
May17Moderate
Jun12Moderate
Jul11Good
Aug9Good
Sep10Good
Oct10Good
Nov10Good
Dec9Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayTypical season (≥50%)

The growing season in Kesennuma typically lasts about 277 days, from around March 15 to December 16 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 7 to November 19.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonMar 1550%Apr 790%Nov 1990%Dec 1650%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan2231
Feb2028
Mar5431
Apr954
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov928
Dec5431

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Kesennuma banks about 1,571 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around August.

05001,0001,500JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr9
May123
Jun234
Jul360
Aug409
Sep299
Oct131
Nov4
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Kesennuma receives about 3.9 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.1 and 5.6 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.2 months, from around Mar 4 to Sep 7. The brightest month is May, averaging about 5.5 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.2 kWh/m² — roughly 61% less than the May peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseMay 285.6 kWhDec 112.1 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.5Moderate
Feb3.4Moderate
Mar4.4Bright
Apr5.2Bright
May5.5Bright
Jun5.2Bright
Jul4.6Bright
Aug4.5Bright
Sep3.8Moderate
Oct3.1Moderate
Nov2.5Moderate
Dec2.1Moderate

Where is Kesennuma?

Kesennuma sits at 38.9°N, 141.6°E, 14 m above sea level, in Japan. The nearest listed city is Rikuzen-Takata, 15 km away.

Topography around Kesennuma

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Kesennuma.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Kesennuma has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 350 m around an average of 54 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 890 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,889 m.

The land around Kesennuma is covered by trees (54%) and artificial surfaces (30%) within 3 km, trees (55%) and water (36%) within 16 km, and trees (54%) and water (33%) within 80 km.

3 km
350 m
16 km
890 m
80 km
1,889 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Rikuzen-Takata 15 km · Ōfunato 22 km · Ichinoseki 38 km · Tome 42 km · Ōshū 44 km · Mizusawa 46 km · Tōno 46 km · Kamaishi 49 km

Japan travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type A / B
100 V · 50 / 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 65% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$35,951
2025
Happiness
6.1 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
99%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.2
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
3.6
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Very low
EF EPI 446
Religion
Shintoism 49%Buddhism 46%other 4%Christianity 1%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Kesennuma (38.9011°, 141.5775°, elevation 14 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. Tropical-cyclone seasons are the published climatological basin seasons (NOAA National Hurricane Center / regional warning centres). Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).