Climate - Sendai (Japan)

In Sendai, a Japanese city in the north-east of Honshu Island, in Miyagi Prefecture, the climate is temperate humid, with cold winters and warm, rainy summers. Like the rest of Japan, the city is affected by the monsoon circulation: in winter, the northwest cold currents will prevail, while in summer, they will be replaced by hot and humid currents of tropical origin (although to a lesser extent than in central and southern Japan).
In winter, temperatures are low: in January and February, lows are slightly below freezing (0 °C or 32 °F) and highs a few degrees above. Waves of intense cold are rare: usually, the temperature does not drop below -5 °C (23 °F), although the cold is fairly constant and the air is humid. Despite the fact that the city is located on the east coast, snow is quite common, and sometimes abundant. An average of about 70 centimeters (27 inches) of snow falls per year, distributed in 66 days (in most cases, however, it is sleet or light snow).
In summer, average temperatures are not too high, actually, during periods of bad weather, there is a cool northeast wind called Yamase. However, in this season, sunny periods, with hot and humid conditions, can occur (though more rarely than in Tokyo), and alternate with periods of bad weather, with wind and rain.
Here are the average temperatures.

Precipitation is quite abundant, in fact, it amounts to 1,250 millimeters (49 inches) per year; winter is the driest season (at least in quantity, as drizzle or sleet often falls), while summer is the rainiest season because of the summer monsoon. Here is the average precipitation.

From June to October (but especially from August to early October), Sendai may be affected by typhoons, though typically with less frequency and intensity than in southern Japan.
The cherry blossoming (Sakura) in Sendai occurs around April 13th, about two or three weeks later than in Tokyo.
The amount of sunshine in Sendai is not exceptional: it is pretty good in winter (considering that the days are shorter), it reaches a relative maximum in spring, and then it declines in summer because of the monsoon. Here are the average sunshine hours per day.



The sea in Sendai, cold in winter, becomes acceptable for swimming in August and September, while it is still cool in July, as you can see in the following table.