Climate and average weather in Shiroishi

In Shiroishi, the summers are humid, warm, wet, and mostly cloudy and the winters are cold, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: late April to late October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Shiroishi typically varies from -4°C to 27°C, and is rarely below -8°C or above 32°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 Shiroishi for warm-weather activities is from late April to late October.

Hottest
Aug
27°
Coldest
Jan
-4°
Wettest
Jul
188 mm
Driest
Feb
58 mm
Rain / yr
1322 mm
164 wet days
Daylight
9.4–14.6 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
57 m
38.0°N
Clearest
Nov
60% cloud

Shiroishi is city in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.

Density
116/km²
people per km²
Founded
1954

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

Shiroishi 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 April to late October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 3.7 months, from June 5 to September 24, with daily high temperatures above 21°C. The hottest month of the year in Shiroishi is August, with an average high of 27°C and low of 20°C.

The cool season lasts 3.4 months, from December 5 to March 16, with daily high temperatures below 7°C. The coldest month of the year in Shiroishi is January, with an average low of -4°C and high of 3°C.

Days typically run about 8°C warmer than nights year-round.

-10°10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan3-4
Feb4-4
Mar8-1
Apr144
May1910
Jun2215
Jul2619
Aug2720
Sep2316
Oct1810
Nov123
Dec6-1

How hot and cold Shiroishi 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 -9°C (around January 31), with roughly 138 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)
Jan33-8-4
Feb44-8-4
Mar78-4-1
Apr141424
May19191010
Jun22221515
Jul26261919
Aug28272020
Sep23231616
Oct1818910
Nov121213
Dec56-5-1

Average hourly temperature in Shiroishi

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 27°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -4°C.

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

Shiroishi 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 / -4°7814.5159.70.0
Feb / -4°5811.911.710.50.0
Mar / -1°9213.48.211.71.0
Apr14° / 9512.51.8133.8
May19° / 10°9812.40145.7
Jun22° / 15°12613.6014.65.8
Jul26° / 19°18818.2014.45.2
Aug27° / 20°16015.8013.55.5
Sep23° / 16°15314012.35.8
Oct18° / 10°13511.50115.4
Nov12° / 7111.629.92.9
Dec / -1°6914.510.19.40.3

Chance of rain

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

Shiroishi gets about 1322 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 3.3 months, from around Jun 14 to Sep 22, peaking in July at about 62% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Oct 17.

July is the wettest month by volume, with 188 mm over about 18 wet days; February is the driest, with 58 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJul 10 · 62%Oct 17 · 35%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan4615
Feb4312
Mar4313
Apr4213
May3912
Jun4614
Jul5818
Aug5116
Sep4714
Oct3712
Nov3912
Dec4615

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Shiroishi collects about 1322 mm of rain across 164 wet days — roughly 110 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. July is the wettest month with 188 mm, while February is the driest at just 58 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 38% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

050100150200JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec78589295981261881601531357169
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan781515
Feb581212
Mar92138
Apr95132
May98120
Jun126140
Jul188180
Aug160160
Sep153140
Oct135120
Nov71122
Dec691510

Snow in Shiroishi

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.

Shiroishi averages about 49 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Nov 3 to Apr 26 — about 5.8 months.

January is snowiest, with roughly 14 days of snow and an estimated 68 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 214 cm of snow.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonJan 27
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan1568
Feb1253
Mar838
Apr210
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov26
Dec1039

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Shiroishi, 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 7 and lasts for 7.1 months, ending around May 9. The clearest month is November, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 50% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around May 25 and lasts for 4.4 months, ending around October 6. The cloudiest month is July, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 78% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecNov 3 · 54%Jul 3 · 18%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastclearercloudierclearer
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4357
Feb4060
Mar4357
Apr4456
May3862
Jun2476
Jul2278
Aug3070
Sep3268
Oct4456
Nov5050
Dec4555

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 9, brings about 14 h 36 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 24 min — a swing of roughly 5 h 12 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.76:584:36
Feb10.56:365:08
Mar11.75:565:38
Apr13.05:086:07
May14.04:326:35
Jun14.64:196:56
Jul14.44:316:55
Aug13.54:576:26
Sep12.35:255:39
Oct11.05:534:52
Nov9.96:264:20
Dec9.46:524:15

Sunny days

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

Shiroishi averages about 5 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 2 and 9 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 2.7 months, from around Mar 17 to Jun 6. The sunniest month is April, with roughly 8 sunny days (gloomy).

The greyest month is July, down near 3 sunny days — about 62% fewer than the April peak.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedApr 259 daysJul 62 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan4Gloomy
Feb4Gloomy
Mar5Gloomy
Apr8Gloomy
May7Gloomy
Jun4Gloomy
Jul3Gloomy
Aug5Gloomy
Sep5Gloomy
Oct7Gloomy
Nov7Gloomy
Dec4Gloomy

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

The more humid part of the year lasts 3.6 months, from around June 11 to September 28. The muggiest month is August, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 94% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 29 to June 10, 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 10 · 100%Aug 6 · 4%oppressivehumidcomfortablemuggydrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
Jan1000000
Feb1000000
Mar1000000
Apr991000
May8513200
Jun28342991
Jul110264319
Aug06183937
Sep182428227
Oct7816510
Nov991000
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 Shiroishi is typically calm, near 8 km/h, and varies moderately with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.1 months, from around Nov 3 to May 8. The windiest month is February, averaging about 11 km/h (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 9 to Nov 2, with July the calmest month at about 5 km/h.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeFeb 11 · 11 km/hJul 28 · 5 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan10calm
Feb11calm
Mar10calm
Apr9calm
May7calm
Jun6calm
Jul5calm
Aug5calm
Sep6calm
Oct7calm
Nov8calm
Dec10calm

Hazard calendar for Shiroishi

In seasonPeak

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

Shiroishi 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 Shiroishi

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around mid October, Shiroishi 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 Shiroishi for general outdoor tourist activities is from late April to late October, with a peak score in the first week of June.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJun 2 · 6.1

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
Mar1.1poor
Apr3.7fair
May5.7good
Jun5.7good
Jul5.2fair
Aug5.5fair
Sep5.8good
Oct5.3fair
Nov2.8poor
Dec0.4poor

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

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 6 · 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 Shiroishi, 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 27°C), the essentials are light clothes and rain gear. In the cold season around January (highs near 3°C), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In August, Shiroishi sees daytime highs around 27°C and nights near 20°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. About 16 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Shiroishi

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 46 km away) is warmest in August at about 24°C and coldest in March near 9°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Jul 7 to Oct 10 — about 3.2 months when the water holds above 20°C.

5°10°15°20°25°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan11Bracing
Feb9Bracing
Mar9Bracing
Apr10Bracing
May14Bracing
Jun18Cool
Jul21Refreshing
Aug24Refreshing
Sep23Refreshing
Oct19Cool
Nov17Cool
Dec14Bracing

UV index (midday) in Shiroishi 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 Shiroishi peaks around August 13 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 10 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 9 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highModerateAug 13UV 9Jan 10UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr6High
May8Very high
Jun8Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug9Very high
Sep8Very high
Oct5High
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Low

Average hourly UV index in Shiroishi

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 8 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 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
Mar40
Apr61.5
May7.54.5
Jun84.5
Jul85
Aug85
Sep74
Oct50
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Shiroishi 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 Shiroishi is worst in April — around 22 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.2× the cleanest month (December, 10 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateGoodApr 1622 µg/m³Dec 1710 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan11Good
Feb14Moderate
Mar21Moderate
Apr22Moderate
May21Moderate
Jun16Moderate
Jul14Moderate
Aug12Moderate
Sep12Good
Oct12Good
Nov11Good
Dec10Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Shiroishi typically lasts about 258 days, from around March 24 to December 6 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 15 to November 11.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonFeb 1510%Mar 2450%Apr 1590%Nov 1190%Dec 650%Jan 610%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan831
Feb1128
Mar3931
Apr8813
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov8418
Dec3331

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. Shiroishi banks about 1,631 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
Apr13
May145
Jun260
Jul386
Aug423
Sep292
Oct112
Nov1
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.

Shiroishi receives about 3.7 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.0 and 5.4 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.2 months, from around Mar 2 to Sep 5. The brightest month is May, averaging about 5.3 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.1 kWh/m² — roughly 61% less than the May peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseMay 265.4 kWhDec 82.0 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.5Moderate
Feb3.3Moderate
Mar4.2Bright
Apr5.0Bright
May5.3Bright
Jun4.8Bright
Jul4.3Bright
Aug4.3Bright
Sep3.5Moderate
Oct2.9Moderate
Nov2.3Moderate
Dec2.0Moderate

Where is Shiroishi?

Shiroishi sits at 38.0°N, 140.6°E, 57 m above sea level, in Japan. The nearest listed city is Ōkawara, 11 km away.

Topography around Shiroishi

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Shiroishi has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 493 m around an average of 100 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,805 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,031 m.

The land around Shiroishi is covered by trees (50%), cropland (23%) and artificial surfaces (23%) within 3 km, trees (80%) within 16 km, and trees (63%) and water (20%) within 80 km.

3 km
493 m
16 km
1,805 m
80 km
2,031 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Ōkawara 11 km · Kakuda 14 km · Murata 16 km · Yanagawamachi-saiwaichō 17 km · Watari 21 km · Hobaramachi 22 km · Date 23 km · Iwanuma 24 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 Shiroishi (38.0033°, 140.6183°, elevation 57 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).