Zhangjiajie Climate
Seasons: Within the park, peaks are high and valleys deep, streams crisscross, forests are dense, and the terrain is complex, keeping cold currents out. The climate is mild—warm in winter and cool in summer, with no extreme heat or cold—a typical mid-subtropical mountain monsoon humid climate with pronounced diversity and vertical variation. There are two seasonal transitions each year; in the winter half-year it is controlled by dry, cold northern air masses.
This article has been compiled from historical materials in the "Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network" (33519.com · City Overview section). Some administrative divisions, population, socioeconomic data, and policy information may be outdated and are for reference only; for the latest situation, please refer to official releases by the local government and scenic areas.
Seasons: Within the park, the peaks are high and the valleys deep, streams and ravines crisscross, forests are dense, and the terrain is complex, making it hard for cold air currents to enter, so the climate is mild—warm in winter and cool in summer, with no severe heat and no severe cold. It belongs to a typical mid-subtropical mountain-type monsoon humid climate, with very obvious diversity and vertical differentiation. There are two climatic transitions in a year. In the winter half-year it is controlled by dry, cold northern air masses, with prevailing northerly winds and cold, dry weather; in the summer half-year it is affected by warm, moist air currents, with prevailing southerly winds and high temperature and heavy humidity; spring and autumn are transitional periods when cold and warm air currents alternate, mildly cold and slightly warm, with a pleasant climate. The length of the four seasons changes with increasing altitude. In low-altitude areas (below 300 meters), winter and summer are long while spring and autumn are short, whereas in high-altitude areas (above 1,000 meters), winter and spring are long while summer and autumn are short.
Temperature: The annual average temperature is 12.8°C, with an average maximum temperature of 15.7°C–18.7°C; an average minimum temperature of 9.6°C–10.1°C; an absolute maximum temperature of 36.4°C and an absolute minimum temperature of −4.5°C. Due to the special terrain, the vertical temperature difference within the area is great. In winter, the temperature inversion phenomenon is obvious, so in some places birds gather in winter, forming a paradise of birds.
Precipitation: The average annual precipitation is 1,228.5 mm, with an average of 139 rainy days. Precipitation increases with rising altitude, and its monthly distribution is uneven, concentrated from April to July, with 49 rainy days, accounting for about 32% of the year's rainy days. The period of concentrated heavy precipitation is from May to July, with precipitation reaching 650 mm, accounting for 46% of the annual total. December to January has little precipitation, about 56 mm, accounting for only 4% of the annual total.
Humidity: Because rainfall is abundant, forest vegetation is intact, and transpiration is great, humidity is relatively high. The average annual relative humidity is 78%. Higher altitudes easily produce cloud and mist, and cloud and mist often coil around the mountainside up to the summit, so humidity is greatest at the mountainside, with relative humidity above 85%. Due to the effect of wind, humidity at the summit is lower than at the mountainside but higher than at the foot of the mountain. Within a year, April to July is the relatively wet season, and August to September is the relatively dry season.
Sunshine: The annual average sunshine is 809.8 hours. August has the most, with an average sunshine of 202.58 hours; February has the least, averaging 55.7 hours. Compared with the surrounding Yongding District and Cili County, the average annual sunshine hours are 121.4–204.7 hours fewer, and slightly more than Sangzhi County. Because of its complex terrain, the distribution of sunlight at different heights and on different slope aspects is extremely uneven, thus creating local microclimates, hence the saying "a different scene every five li, a different sky every ten li."
Wind: The annual average wind speed is 2.3 m/s; the southeast wind has the greatest speed, averaging 3.5 m/s annually; the most frequent wind direction is calm wind, with a frequency of 77%; next is the southeast wind, with a frequency of 8%; then the northeast wind and south wind, with frequencies of 5% and 3%.
Snow: Snowfall is mainly concentrated from December to February of the following year. The annual number of snow days is about 15, with a maximum of 17 days and a minimum of 3 days. The average annual snow cover duration is about 5.6 days; in high mountain areas snow cover lasts from December to March of the following year, more than 100 days. The maximum snow depth on flat ground is 19 cm, and the maximum snow depth in high mountain areas is more than 80 cm.
Frost: In the park, the average frost period over the past nearly 30 years is 91 days, of which the actual number of frost days is 24.5, and the average annual frost-free period is 274 days. In the earliest years frost begins in November, and in the latest years it ends in March of the following year. January has the most, averaging 9.8 days; December and February follow, with 7.2 days and 5.3 days respectively. Frost days increase with rising altitude.
Glaze (freezing rain): The average annual number of glaze days is 1.3, with the longest continuous period being 8 days, mostly in January and February. Glaze mostly occurs in high mountain areas; the glaze days at Chaotianguan and Huangshizhai are more than three times those at Luoguta, and the largest icicle diameter is more than 28 cm, often forming a unique world of ice in winter.