Kobe, a major port city in Hyogo prefecture, sits on a narrow strip between the Rokko mountains and Osaka Bay on the Seto Inland Sea in western Japan, at approximately 34.69°N, 135.20°E. Its sheltered position gives it a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — hot, muggy summers and mild winters — with the mountains at its back moderating the weather.

Summer, from June to August, is hot and humid, with August the warmest month — average highs around 32–33°C — made oppressive by high humidity and the urban heat island of the Osaka–Kobe conurbation, with warm, sticky nights. Early summer brings the baiu plum rains, and late summer and early autumn bring the risk of typhoons off the Pacific.

Winter, from December to February, is mild, with January the coolest month — average highs around 9–10°C and lows near 2–3°C. Frost occurs on clear nights, but snow is rare and rarely lies, as the Rokko mountains shelter the city from the cold northwesterly winds that bury the Sea of Japan coast. Days are often clear, dry and sunny.

Kobe receives around 1,200–1,300 mm of rain a year, concentrated in the baiu rains of June and July and again in the autumn typhoon season, while winter is comparatively dry and sunny; the Inland Sea position keeps totals moderate. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.

Kobe is squeezed between the steep Rokko mountains and the sea, a setting that shelters it from winter's cold northwesterlies but leaves the slopes above the city vulnerable to landslides during the torrential baiu rains. The mountains also generate the local Rokko oroshi, a cold wind that descends the slopes on clear winter days.

To follow any single measurement in Kobe more closely, use our live instruments: the online barometer for atmospheric pressure, the thermometer for temperature, the hygrometer for humidity, the anemometer for wind speed, the wind vane for wind direction, and the rain gauge for rainfall.