Climate and average weather in Minamishibetsuchō

In Minamishibetsuchō, the summers are warm, wet, and mostly cloudy and the winters are very cold, snowy, and mostly cloudy.

Best: late May to late September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Minamishibetsuchō typically varies from -12°C to 23°C, and is rarely below -18°C or above 28°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 Minamishibetsuchō for warm-weather activities is from late May to late September.

Hottest
Aug
23°
Coldest
Jan
-12°
Wettest
Aug
174 mm
Driest
Feb
60 mm
Rain / yr
1378 mm
190 wet days
Daylight
8.7–15.3 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
134 m
44.2°N
Clearest
Oct
63% cloud

Minamishibetsuchō 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 late May to late September.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 4.1 months, from May 25 to September 27, with daily high temperatures above 17°C. The hottest month of the year in Minamishibetsuchō is August, with an average high of 23°C and low of 16°C.

The cool season lasts 3.5 months, from November 29 to March 15, with daily high temperatures below 1°C. The coldest month of the year in Minamishibetsuchō is January, with an average low of -12°C and high of -5°C.

Days typically run about 8°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 10°C) in May.

-20°-10°10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan-5-12
Feb-4-11
Mar1-7
Apr8-1
May156
Jun1911
Jul2315
Aug2316
Sep1911
Oct134
Nov4-2
Dec-2-9

How hot and cold Minamishibetsuchō 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 -18°C (around January 29), with roughly 193 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C) 118 of them bitterly cold — worst in January.

-20°-10°10°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan-5-5-17-12
Feb-4-4-17-11
Mar11-12-7
Apr88-4-1
May151536
Jun19191011
Jul23231515
Aug23231616
Sep19191011
Oct131324
Nov44-7-2
Dec-2-2-14-9

Average hourly temperature in Minamishibetsuchō

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 23°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -12°C.

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

Minamishibetsuchō 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-5° / -12°6816.1219.10.0
Feb-4° / -11°6014.317.410.20.0
Mar / -7°8115.816.911.60.0
Apr / -1°8414.18.213.21.3
May15° / 9613.40.714.54.2
Jun19° / 11°9812.8015.25.5
Jul23° / 15°15714.40155.9
Aug23° / 16°17415.6013.85.8
Sep19° / 11°16915.9012.35.2
Oct13° / 13716.71.510.83.0
Nov / -2°1452015.19.40.3
Dec-2° / -9°1102123.68.70.0

Chance of rain

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

Minamishibetsuchō gets about 1378 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is very wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 3.1 months, from around Oct 12 to Jan 12, peaking in December at about 70% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around May 27.

August is the wettest month by volume, with 174 mm over about 16 wet days; February is the driest, with 60 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetDec 5 · 70%May 27 · 41%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan5216
Feb5214
Mar5016
Apr4714
May4313
Jun4313
Jul4614
Aug5116
Sep5216
Oct5417
Nov6720
Dec6721

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Minamishibetsuchō collects about 1378 mm of rain across 190 wet days — roughly 115 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. August is the wettest month with 174 mm, while February is the driest at just 60 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 36% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

050100150200JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec686081849698157174169137145110
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan681621
Feb601417
Mar811617
Apr84148
May96131
Jun98130
Jul157140
Aug174160
Sep169160
Oct137172
Nov1452015
Dec1102124

Snow in Minamishibetsuchō

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.

Minamishibetsuchō averages about 104 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 11 to May 16 — about 7.2 months.

December is snowiest, with roughly 23 days of snow and an estimated 113 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 483 cm of snow.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonDec 14
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan2176
Feb1783
Mar1777
Apr838
May13
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct27
Nov1588
Dec24113

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Minamishibetsuchō, 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 August 20 and lasts for 2.5 months, ending around November 4. The clearest month is October, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 43% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 5 and lasts for 4.3 months, ending around March 14. The cloudiest month is January, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 84% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecOct 13 · 47%Feb 8 · 15%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan1684
Feb1882
Mar3268
Apr4159
May3961
Jun3070
Jul2773
Aug2971
Sep3862
Oct4357
Nov2476
Dec1882

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 12, brings about 15 h 18 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 8 h 42 min — a swing of roughly 6 h 36 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.17:094:11
Feb10.26:404:50
Mar11.65:525:29
Apr13.24:546:07
May14.54:106:44
Jun15.23:527:10
Jul15.04:067:06
Aug13.84:396:30
Sep12.35:165:34
Oct10.85:534:38
Nov9.46:343:57
Dec8.77:063:48

Sunny days

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

Minamishibetsuchō averages about 4 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 1 and 8 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 3.8 months, from around Mar 20 to Jul 12. The sunniest month is April, with roughly 7 sunny days (gloomy).

The greyest month is January, down near 1 sunny days — about 86% fewer than the April peak.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedApr 268 daysJan 21 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan1Gloomy
Feb1Gloomy
Mar4Gloomy
Apr7Gloomy
May8Gloomy
Jun6Gloomy
Jul4Gloomy
Aug5Gloomy
Sep6Gloomy
Oct6Gloomy
Nov3Gloomy
Dec1Gloomy

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 Minamishibetsuchō, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 2.8 months, from around June 24 to September 16. The muggiest month is August, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 62% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 17 to June 23, and May 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMay 18 · 100%Aug 4 · 28%muggyhumidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
Jan1000000
Feb1000000
Mar1000000
Apr1000000
May991000
Jun6924610
Jul193430161
Aug132535243
Sep60241150
Oct991000
Nov1000000
Dec1000000

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 Minamishibetsuchō is typically calm, near 10 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 3.3 months, from around Sep 30 to Jan 6. The windiest month is November, averaging about 12 km/h (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 18 to Sep 29, with July the calmest month at about 8 km/h.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmerwindiercalmlight breezeNov 7 · 12 km/hJul 9 · 8 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan10calm
Feb10calm
Mar11calm
Apr11calm
May10calm
Jun8calm
Jul8calm
Aug8calm
Sep9calm
Oct11calm
Nov12calm
Dec11calm

Hazard calendar for Minamishibetsuchō

In seasonPeak

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

Minamishibetsuchō 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 Minamishibetsuchō

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around mid September, Minamishibetsuchō is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

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 Minamishibetsuchō for general outdoor tourist activities is from late May to late September, with a peak score in the third week of July.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 15 · 5.9

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
Mar0.0poor
Apr1.4poor
May4.2fair
Jun5.5good
Jul5.9good
Aug5.8good
Sep5.1fair
Oct3.0poor
Nov0.3poor
Dec0.0poor

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 Minamishibetsuchō for hot-weather activities is from early July to late August, with a peak score in the first week of August.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 2 · 5.0

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 Minamishibetsuchō, 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 23°C), the essentials are light clothes and rain gear. In the cold season around January (highs near -5°C), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In August, Minamishibetsuchō sees daytime highs around 23°C and nights near 16°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: light clothes. About 16 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Minamishibetsuchō

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

The sea at the nearest coast (about 60 km away) is warmest in August at about 21°C and coldest in February near 5°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Aug 5 to Sep 20 — about 1.5 months when the water holds above 20°C.

0°10°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarm
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan6Bracing
Feb5Bracing
Mar5Bracing
Apr7Bracing
May10Bracing
Jun14Bracing
Jul18Cool
Aug21Refreshing
Sep21Refreshing
Oct17Cool
Nov12Bracing
Dec9Bracing

UV index (midday) in Minamishibetsuchō 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 Minamishibetsuchō peaks around August 15 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 1 (low).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighVery highHighModerateLowAug 15UV 8Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar3Moderate
Apr5High
May7Very high
Jun7High
Jul7High
Aug9Very high
Sep6High
Oct4Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in Minamishibetsuchō

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
Mar20
Apr60
May7.53.5
Jun83.5
Jul7.53
Aug7.54.5
Sep60
Oct30
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Minamishibetsuchō 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 Minamishibetsuchō is worst in April — around 17 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.5× the cleanest month (December, 7 µg/m³).

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

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodApr 1516 µg/m³Dec 197 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan7Good
Feb10Good
Mar15Moderate
Apr17Moderate
May15Moderate
Jun10Good
Jul10Good
Aug8Good
Sep7Good
Oct9Good
Nov8Good
Dec7Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Minamishibetsuchō typically lasts about 201 days, from around April 20 to November 6 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from May 10 to October 15.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonMar 2910%Apr 2050%May 1090%Oct 1590%Nov 650%Nov 2510%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan031
Feb028
Mar431
Apr4230
May939
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct8816
Nov3030
Dec231

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. Minamishibetsuchō banks about 904 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around August.

02004006008001,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May29
Jun148
Jul272
Aug295
Sep153
Oct7
Nov0
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.

Minamishibetsuchō receives about 3.6 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.4 and 5.4 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.4 months, from around Mar 5 to Sep 15. The brightest month is May, averaging about 5.4 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.5 kWh/m² — roughly 73% less than the May peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseMay 285.4 kWhDec 161.4 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan1.8Dim
Feb2.8Moderate
Mar4.1Bright
Apr5.1Bright
May5.4Bright
Jun5.2Bright
Jul4.8Bright
Aug4.2Bright
Sep3.6Moderate
Oct2.7Moderate
Nov1.7Dim
Dec1.4Dim

Where is Minamishibetsuchō?

Minamishibetsuchō sits at 44.2°N, 142.4°E, 134 m above sea level, in Japan. The nearest listed city is Nayoro, 23 km away.

Topography around Minamishibetsuchō

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Minamishibetsuchō has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 138 m around an average of 145 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 686 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,253 m.

The land around Minamishibetsuchō is covered by cropland (50%) and trees (31%) within 3 km, trees (60%) and cropland (34%) within 16 km, and trees (74%) within 80 km.

3 km
138 m
16 km
686 m
80 km
2,253 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Nearby: Nayoro 23 km · Asahikawa 43 km · Fukagawa 56 km · Rumoi 63 km · Ashibetsu 73 km · Takikawa 77 km · Mombetsu 81 km · Sunagawa 83 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 Minamishibetsuchō (44.154°, 142.3731°, elevation 134 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).