Abstract
Monthly averaged temperature and precipitation of climatological Normals from 1981 to 2010 at 158 points provided by Japan Meteorological Agency are applied for statistical classifying Hokkaido climate. These points are divided into 5 clusters based on the shape of dendrogram. The results show that clusters A and B are located along the coast of the Sea of Japan with their heavy rain and snow in fall/winter. Rain and snow in Cluster A is heavier than in Cluster B. Cluster D and E are located along the coast of the Pacific with their heavy rain in summer. Rain in cluster E is heavier than in Cluster D. Cluster C has no heavy precipitation season through a year. It corresponds to the climate of the Sea of Okhotsk. It prevails not only along the Sea of Okhotsk but also inland of Hokkaido. These classifications are assumed to be used for application of results of crop adaptation test at an experimental station to the area of same cluster. The attribution to cluster on the required spot needs to be considered not from the nearest neighbor but synthetic judgment in a surrounding region.
