Like most of Honsh?, Nagano has a temperate oceanic climate, although bordering with a humid continental climate its location in a sheltered inland valley means it receives less precipitation than any part of Japan outside Hokkaid?. The city still receives heavy winter snow totaling 2.57 metres (101 in) over four months from December to March, but it is less gloomy during these cold months than the coast from Hagi to Wakkanai
