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Karuizawa vs Crested Butte
Comparing Karuizawa change · Crested Butte change
Karuizawa is the warmer of the two — about 8°C on the annual average; Karuizawa is the wetter, with 412 mm more rain a year, and Crested Butte the sunnier.
How the seasons compare
The differences between Karuizawa and Crested Butte, in everyday terms.
Summers
Karuizawa has hotter summers
Karuizawa: Warm
Crested Butte: Mild
Winters
Karuizawa has far milder winters
Karuizawa: Very cold
Crested Butte: Bitterly cold
Rain & snow
Karuizawa is wetter
Karuizawa: Moderate rainfall
Crested Butte: Moderate rainfall
Sky
Crested Butte is sunnier
Karuizawa: Often cloudy
Crested Butte: Partly cloudy
Month-by-month charts
Temperature
Karuizawa is the warmer of the two — about 8°C on the annual average.
Precipitation
Karuizawa is the wetter — about 412 mm more across the year.
Clear skies
Crested Butte has the clearer skies — the higher line.
Exact monthly numbers
Tap a metric to open its full table. Desktop shows all twelve months; on a phone each metric splits into Jan–Jun and Jul–Dec.
Avg high (°C) Karuizawa runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karuizawa | 2 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 20 | 23 | 27 | 28 | 23 | 17 | 12 | 6 |
| Crested Butte | -3 | -1 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 21 | 25 | 23 | 19 | 13 | 4 | -3 |
| Difference | -6 | -5 | -4 | -7 | -5 | -1 | -2 | -5 | -4 | -5 | -7 | -8 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karuizawa | 2 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 20 | 23 |
| Crested Butte | -3 | -1 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 21 |
| Difference | -6 | -5 | -4 | -7 | -5 | -1 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karuizawa | 27 | 28 | 23 | 17 | 12 | 6 |
| Crested Butte | 25 | 23 | 19 | 13 | 4 | -3 |
| Difference | -2 | -5 | -4 | -5 | -7 | -8 |
Avg low (°C) Karuizawa runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karuizawa | -7 | -7 | -4 | 2 | 8 | 13 | 17 | 18 | 13 | 7 | 1 | -4 |
| Crested Butte | -21 | -19 | -14 | -7 | -2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | -0 | -6 | -13 | -20 |
| Difference | -14 | -12 | -10 | -9 | -10 | -12 | -13 | -14 | -14 | -12 | -13 | -15 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karuizawa | -7 | -7 | -4 | 2 | 8 | 13 |
| Crested Butte | -21 | -19 | -14 | -7 | -2 | 1 |
| Difference | -14 | -12 | -10 | -9 | -10 | -12 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karuizawa | 17 | 18 | 13 | 7 | 1 | -4 |
| Crested Butte | 4 | 4 | -0 | -6 | -13 | -20 |
| Difference | -13 | -14 | -14 | -12 | -13 | -15 |
Precipitation (mm) Varies through the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karuizawa | 32 | 33 | 61 | 62 | 87 | 120 | 156 | 122 | 146 | 118 | 47 | 28 |
| Crested Butte | 69 | 65 | 54 | 51 | 38 | 24 | 50 | 50 | 49 | 43 | 51 | 57 |
| Difference | +37 | +31 | -7 | -11 | -48 | -96 | -106 | -72 | -97 | -75 | +4 | +29 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karuizawa | 32 | 33 | 61 | 62 | 87 | 120 |
| Crested Butte | 69 | 65 | 54 | 51 | 38 | 24 |
| Difference | +37 | +31 | -7 | -11 | -48 | -96 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karuizawa | 156 | 122 | 146 | 118 | 47 | 28 |
| Crested Butte | 50 | 50 | 49 | 43 | 51 | 57 |
| Difference | -106 | -72 | -97 | -75 | +4 | +29 |
Snowfall (cm)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karuizawa | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Crested Butte | 106 | 90 | 69 | 46 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 66 | 88 |
| Difference | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karuizawa | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Crested Butte | 106 | 90 | 69 | 46 | 17 | 1 |
| Difference | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karuizawa | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Crested Butte | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 66 | 88 |
| Difference | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Cloud cover (%) Karuizawa runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karuizawa | 63 | 64 | 65 | 65 | 69 | 81 | 79 | 70 | 75 | 70 | 62 | 61 |
| Crested Butte | 54 | 60 | 60 | 63 | 61 | 46 | 57 | 58 | 46 | 44 | 49 | 54 |
| Difference | -8 | -4 | -5 | -2 | -8 | -35 | -23 | -12 | -30 | -26 | -13 | -7 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karuizawa | 63 | 64 | 65 | 65 | 69 | 81 |
| Crested Butte | 54 | 60 | 60 | 63 | 61 | 46 |
| Difference | -8 | -4 | -5 | -2 | -8 | -35 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karuizawa | 79 | 70 | 75 | 70 | 62 | 61 |
| Crested Butte | 57 | 58 | 46 | 44 | 49 | 54 |
| Difference | -23 | -12 | -30 | -26 | -13 | -7 |
Relative humidity (%) Varies through the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karuizawa | 90 | 87 | 82 | 76 | 75 | 79 | 81 | 81 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 88 |
| Crested Butte | 91 | 94 | 89 | 76 | 64 | 52 | 56 | 59 | 57 | 63 | 77 | 89 |
| Difference | +2 | +7 | +8 | — | -10 | -27 | -26 | -22 | -26 | -22 | -9 | +1 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karuizawa | 90 | 87 | 82 | 76 | 75 | 79 |
| Crested Butte | 91 | 94 | 89 | 76 | 64 | 52 |
| Difference | +2 | +7 | +8 | — | -10 | -27 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karuizawa | 81 | 81 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 88 |
| Crested Butte | 56 | 59 | 57 | 63 | 77 | 89 |
| Difference | -26 | -22 | -26 | -22 | -9 | +1 |
How both climates are changing
Both cities are warming. Each city has its own warming trend; see its trends page for the year-by-year detail. Karuizawa trends → · Crested Butte trends →
Methodology & sources
Karuizawa
Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from the Japan Meteorological Agency, measured at Tomi, about 23 km from the city centre.
Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.
Crested Butte
Temperature & precipitation — 1991–2020 normals computed from 30 years of daily observations at Crested Butte, a weather station, about 1 km from the city centre. The underlying daily records come from NOAA's global station network.
Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.
← change Karuizawa · change Crested Butte → · Karuizawa page · Crested Butte page