Snow fell in Sapporo overnight 27–28 Oct 2026, but nothing settled on the ground
This week's news · Checked 2026-10-29
What happened. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) daily record for Sapporo station logs the night of 27 Oct 2026 (6pm on 27 Oct to 6am on 28 Oct) as "rain, then snow, with sleet at times, with thunder". The daily weather summaries for 1–26 Oct mention no snow. Sapporo's average first-snow date is 28 October (JMA, 1991–2020 normals), so this year's snow came right on schedule.
On 28 Oct, Sapporo peaked at 6.5°C and dropped to 1.4°C, with 5.0 mm of precipitation (JMA preliminary figures, which may be revised). The snow-depth column is empty: no snow stayed on the ground.
JMA's 2-Week Temperature Outlook, issued 28 Oct 2026 at 2:30pm: northern Japan (Hokkaido and Tohoku) will be colder than normal for about a week because of cold air, with some days much colder. After that, most days return to normal. Eastern and western Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka) are normal or lower on 29 Oct, then mostly normal or warmer. For Sapporo, the 5-day average for 3–7 Nov is a high of about 11°C (range 9–13°C) and a low of about 4°C (range 2–5°C).
What it means for you.
- Sapporo in early November: pack a proper winter jacket, gloves and closed waterproof shoes. The snow falling now melts; this is not yet a play-in-the-snow trip. On average, snow stays on the ground in Sapporo from 3 December (JMA). The 10-day tables are in Japan weather by month.
- December school holidays with the kids: of Tokyo, Osaka and Sapporo, only Sapporo usually has snow on the ground. Halal food and prayer rooms outside Sapporo (Niseko, Otaru, Furano, Asahikawa, Hakodate) are in Hokkaido winter for Muslim families. Sapporo hotels for the school-holiday dates: Trip.com: Sapporo hotels 7–11 Dec, 2 adults + 2 children (prices vary by date).
- Tokyo or Osaka in early November: the same outlook shows no unusual cold there. Tokyo's average daytime high for 1–10 Nov is 18.6°C (JMA, 1991–2020); a light jacket is enough.
Watch out.
- "Snow fell" is not "snow on the ground". Sapporo's average snowfall for 1–10 Nov is only 3 cm across those 10 days (JMA, 1991–2020).
- The 2-week outlook is a 5-day average with a range. Check JMA's daily forecast again 2–3 days before you fly.
Affiliate links may be used; your price doesn't change. Sources: Japan Meteorological Agency, Sapporo station daily data, Oct 2026 (Japanese), data.jma.go.jp; 2-Week Temperature Outlook, 28 Oct 2026, data.jma.go.jp. Checked 29 Oct 2026.