Winter Olympics 1998 - Nagano, Japan

Additional Resources

Brief Summary

The climate of Japan is mainly influenced by the great seasonal wind reversal of the Asian monsoon. The relatively narrow Sea of Japan separates Japan from mainland Asia.The Japanese islands have a climate modified and moderated by the ocean: winters are less cold than in the same latitude on the continent and precipitation is much heavier. Much of Japan's precipitation is associated with low pressure systems which develop where warm, humid Pacific air meets cold continental air along the North Pacific polar front. Winter weather is variable and changeable over the whole of Japan but particularly so in the north and west.

Climate information and tables in this report are based on data collected for the airport station atNagano, Japan. Temperatures are generally lower and precipitation higher in the surrounding mountainsaround Nagano. Nagano is the third Japanese city to host the Olympic games after Tokyo (1964) andSapporo (1972). NCDC produced a CD-ROM product entitled, International Station Meteorological Climate Summary (ISMCS) Ver 4.0 which has climatological summaries,graphs and tables for over 5,000 global locations. The map above show the stations locations (dots and squares) for whichclimate summaries have been produced; the city of Nagano is highlighted. The February climate table listed below is compiled from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) global climate normals.

See the links under Additional Resources for more information.

Graphs

Figure 1
Click on Image for a Larger View

Figure 1 is a time series plot of dailyhigh and low temperatures recorded at the airport station for Nagano, Japan during February 1996.

Figure 2 is a time series plot of dailyhigh and low temperatures recorded at the airport station for Nagano, Japan during February 1995.

Figure 3 is a time series plot of dailyhigh and low temperatures recorded at the airport station for Nagano, Japan during February 1994.

These images are produced using the NCDC Global Summary of the Day WWW site. The site allowsusers to graph, plot and download daily data for over 10,000 global stations from 1994 to the present.

Climate Normals

Figure 4
Click on Image to View Table

Figure 4 is the February Climate Normals for Nagano based on the 1961-1990 period.

A complete table of WMO Climatic Normals for Nagano shows comprehensive climate statistics for the entire year.

Also available is an explanation of WMO Climate Normals.

Additional Resources

NAOC Olympic Winter Games Site Nagano '98
GMS Satellite Images Over the Pacific-Univ of WI.-(SSEC)
GMS Satellite Images Over the Pacific-U.S. Navy-(Joint Typhoon Warning Center)

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/reports/olympics98/nagano.html
Created by Tom.Ross@noaa.gov, Neal.Lott@noaa.gov
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Last Updated Wednesday, 20-Aug-2008 11:47:22 EDT
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