Yichang Weather

Yichang's climate can generally be described as subtropical and monsoonal, with lots of rainfall during the spring and summer seasons and the four seasons can clearly be distinguished, depicting somewhat constant characteristics when in full swing.

The generally easily distinguishable four seasons, depicted by this western Hubei city of China, make it relatively easy for any tourists to plan their visits to the area, according to what they seek to get out of their visit of course, since different seasons offer different thrills, by way of scenery and what is practical to include in the itinerary.

The overall climatic behaviour of Yichang, which is naturally influenced by the monsoon area location, tends to take a bit of an interesting twist, consistent with the topographical features Yichag depicts, with parts of the city well-placed in completely urbanized areas, while other parts fall within more country-side areas and the country-side area generally radiates around the urban area.

This is reinforced by the free-flowing water masses, in the form of the Yangtze River, Xiling Gorge, Qing River, Xiang Xi and Huangbo Rivers, amongst other water masses, so this gives the subtropical monsoon weather a bit of a localized, unique twist. Monthly Weather Breakdown

Winter: Although not the shortest of all the seasons, Yichang's winter is relatively short and relatively potent, running from December to February proper and it comes with the ever-present rainfall, although it isn't the very coldest winter in China can have.

December

Average High (Degrees Celsius): 11
Average Low (Degrees Celsius): 4
Precipitation (mm): 18
Average Precipitation (Days): 7

January

Average High (Degrees Celsius): 9
Average Low (Degrees Celsius): 2
Precipitation (mm): 23
Average Precipitation (Days): 8

February

Average High (Degrees Celsius): 11
Average Low (Degrees Celsius): 4
Precipitation (mm): 31
Average Precipitation (Days): 9

Spring: Yichang's spring season is very short, but still not the shortest of Yichang's seasons, and it generally runs for a period of a month to a month and a half, from March to mid-April.

It still gets really cold in the mornings, with temperatures dropping below 10 degrees Celsius, but in the absence of rain things can get pleasantly mild, with daily highs going all the way up to 15 degrees Celsius, peaking at around 22 degrees Celsius on a really warm day.

The rain is still unpredictable during this time though and, when it does rain, temperatures tend to drop as well, sometimes resembling the winter conditions.

March

Average High (Degrees Celsius): 15
Average Low (Degrees Celsius): 7
Precipitation (mm): 58
Average Precipitation (Days): 12

April

Average High (Degrees Celsius): 22
Average Low (Degrees Celsius): 13
Precipitation (mm): 86
Average Precipitation (Days): 13

Summer: Summertime in Yichang requires a bit of adaptability, since it gets really hot during this time and the rain falls unrelentingly, accounting for some conditions that can get really uncomfortable to those who are not acclimatized to the local conditions.

Yichang summers are really long, running for about six months, from early to mid-April, right up until September and sometimes extending over into October.

The rainfall peaks at around June and July, but the month of August is also known to be very wet, after which the heat and the rain slowly begin to relent, although this downturn is very slow and often can't be identified fully until late September.

May

Average High (Degrees Celsius): 27
Average Low (Degrees Celsius): 18
Precipitation (mm): 130
Average Precipitation (Days): 14

June

Average High (Degrees Celsius): 30
Average Low (Degrees Celsius): 22
Precipitation (mm): 148
Average Precipitation (Days): 14

July

Average High (Degrees Celsius): 32
Average Low (Degrees Celsius): 24
Precipitation (mm): 216
Average Precipitation (Days): 15

August

Average High (Degrees Celsius): 32
Average Low (Degrees Celsius): 24
Precipitation (mm): 174
Average Precipitation (Days): 13

September

Average High (Degrees Celsius): 28
Average Low (Degrees Celsius): 20
Precipitation (mm): 123
Average Precipitation (Days): 11

October

Average High (Degrees Celsius): 23
Average Low (Degrees Celsius): 15
Precipitation (mm): 85
Average Precipitation (Days): 11

Autumn: The autumn season of Yichang is the shortest, generally recorded to last a solitary month, during the month of November, which is somewhat of a pity since this makes for some of the more pleasant times in Yichang, weather-wise.

November

Average High (Degrees Celsius): 17
Average Low (Degrees Celsius): 9
Precipitation (mm): 47
Average Precipitation (Days): 9

Summer is definitely out of the question as a good time to visit Yichang, contrary to what the temperature scales may suggest, since the weather during this time is very unpredictable, very uncomfortably hot and very, very wet -- so wet in fact that often the entire transportation industry in Yichang periodically comes to a complete halt because of poor road conditions.

Probably the best time to visit Yichang, with the view of enjoying the sights on offer under some mild conditions is during spring or autumn, which are the two shortest seasons, but make for the best times nonetheless.

When the sun is fully out, short-sleeved shirts and short pants will do, but the best attire for the fluctuating weather patterns throughout the day is probably a long-sleeved sweat shirt, which is made up of very light material, to avoid direct contact with the sun.

A vest underneath would do, since a lot of the time when the temperature peaks it gets really hot, but as far as preparation for the rain goes, it isn't too bad during spring or autumn, so packing a raincoat or umbrella will be dictated by the weather forecast for that particular day.