A player standing in the rain inNew Horizons

Weather plays a part in theAnimal Crossing series, changing daily and reflecting the seasons. Notable weather changes include winter snowstorms, late summer rainstorms and the clear skies of early summer. Weather is mentioned by villagers, influenced by theflora and fauna in theplayer's town, and, most importantly, reflected by the seasons and the time of year, greatly enhancing gameplay.

Weather consists of two main features: precipitation and cloud coverage. These aspects are present constantly, whilst other, more unusual features add to the variation of the game.

Precipitation[edit]

Precipitation comes in two forms in theAnimal Crossing series:rain andsnow. Snow falls only in the winter months, with rain occurring during the rest of the year, though more often during spring and the late summer rainy season. Precipitation can change from hour to hour, but will often last for much of the day, easing off as the day progresses.

Rain[edit]

A player in the rain inNew Leaf

Rain falls throughout the year, in all four seasons. Rain, like snow, waters wilted plants without the need for awatering can. Rainy weather switches the hourly music to variants with a light ringing noise, inAnimal Crossing, only one tune plays during rainy weather, no matter the hour. Villagers who are outside when rain is falling carry umbrellas and might also comment on the weather.Frog villagers, however, do not carry umbrellas since they are amphibious. After a rainy day, it is common to findGyroids around the player's town. Villagers may also comment on the weather. InNew Horizons, villagers may wear rain clothes and hat instead of holding an umbrella.

InCity Folk, rain can be heard falling on the roofs of homes when inside them.

If it is raining in thecity inCity Folk, the town will also be affected by this rain, even if it is a clear day – plants will be automatically hydrated and Gyroids can be found underground the next day. This only works if the player returns from the city after visiting it in the rain, and will not work if they simply save the game and quit when in the city.

Thunderstorms[edit]

Occasionally, thunderstorms can occur during rainy days. On rare occasions, lightning can be seen. Thunderstorms are purely cosmetic and otherwise act identical to normal rain.

Snow[edit]

A snow-coated town inCity Folk. Note the dense, gray clouds.

A player catching a snowflake inNew Horizons

Snow falls from mid-to-late November until early-to-late February (or late May until late-August in the southern hemisphere inAnimal Crossing: New Horizons), settling in early December, with complete coverage by the 11^th of December (10^th inAnimal Crossing and the 11^th of June in the southern hemisphere inNew Horizons). Settled snow covers all grassy areas, buildings and trees. Snowballs appear around town every day in winter, and can be rolled intoSnow People. Additionally, inNew Leaf andNew Horizons, snowflakes will fly around town and can be caught with anet. When snowing, hourly music is altered slightly to sound more like the rain variants but with sleigh bell sounds integrated into them as well. Like rain, snow hydrates wilted flowers without the need for a watering can. Villagers who are outside during winter may talk about the abundance of snow or the cold.

On the 10^th of December (or the 10^th of June in a Southern Hemisphere island inNew Horizons), heavy snowfall can be sighted, leading to snow sticking to the ground the next day. Due to a bug inAnimal Crossing: New Leaf, on certain calendar patterns where the 10th falls on a Saturday, it will not snow due to it conflicting with theFishing Tourney.

• Winter – Rain falls very infrequently in late winter.
• Spring – Moderate rainfall occurs in the spring. Thunderstorms can occur, but it is rare.
• Summer – Summer has a great contrast in rain levels; mid and late summer is completely dry, with clear skies and no rain. Early summer consists of heavy thunderstorms and rainy weather spanning days.
• Fall – Low to moderate levels of rainfall occur in fall. Thunderstorms taper off after the end of September.

Effect on wildlife[edit]

Fishing on a rainy day is the only way to catch a Coelacanth (alternatively, a snowy day works in certain games)

Rain and snow influence the presence of insects and fish.

Fish[edit]

Main article:Fish

One fish, the rareCoelacanth, appears only when it is raining or snowing (snow does not count inDoubutsu no Mori+,Animal Crossing,Doubutsu no Mori e+, orAnimal Crossing: New Horizons). This unusual behavior makes it even harder to catch.

Bugs[edit]

Main article:Bugs

Rain and snow prevents butterflies (prior toAnimal Crossing: New Horizons), many varieties of beetles, theScorpion, and theTarantula (with the exception inNew Horizons for the latter two) from appearing even when they are in-season. However, some bugs only appear when it rains, such as theSnail. Cicadas can still be found when it is raining, but they make no noise.Catch quotes for cicadas inNew Leaf andNew Horizons are also different when caught in the rain.

TheDung Beetle is the only bug that is dependent on snow to exist – it appears exclusively when snow is on the ground, the reason being that it can be found rolling around snowballs on the ground.

Cloud coverage[edit]

The sky as it changes throughout the day, from 6:00 AM to 4:00 AM

The six cloud stages. Please note that these clouds are fromCity Folk

Clouds inWild World have a more uniform shape

Cloud coverage changing in the last 10 minutes of the hour inCity Folk. This feature is not found inWild World.

There are many different levels ofcloud coverage. These levels can potentially change every hour, and range from clear to complete. In the originalAnimal Crossing, the layout of the game ensured that the sky was only visible on one occasion, on thetrain, where it was always cloudy. This means that the paragraphs about cloud coverage only apply to games followingAnimal Crossing. Cloud coverage changes abruptly inWild World, but inCity Folk changes gradually in the last ten minutes before the hour.

Clouds always travel from the north of the town towards the sea, somewhat contradicting the fluttering of the town flag and the floating pattern of balloons. Clouds appear white in the day, unless rain bearing, upon which they are gray. Clouds at night are a darker shade of gray. Cloud coverage gives an indication as to what the weather will be like in the coming hours. Dark, thick clouds usually signify rain, whereas light cloud usually means that the skies will be clear later on.

Clouds inWild World consist entirely of oval-shapes, and are bright white. They can be viewed on the upper screen of theNintendo DS. Clouds inCity Folk are less regular in shape and color, and so appear more varied. They can be viewed on the horizon or by pressing the 'up' button on theWii remote. This rolls the screen up so that the sky dominates the view.

There are six varieties of cloud coverage, which affect various, minor aspects of gameplay. For example, the brightness of a room, whether lights are on or not, and the comments of villagers. Here is a list and brief description of the six cloud densities.

• Clear: No clouds in the sky. The sky appears bright blue, or at night, full of stars.
• Contrail: A single or two line-shaped clouds that trails across the sky. It can occasionally be seen with other types of clouds, or by itself. This cloud is artificial, as it is only produced by aircraft.
• Wisp: Similar to clear, but with faint, infrequent specks of white cloud trailing across the sky.
• Light: Noticeable clouds in the sky, dispersed but still frequent.
• Moderate: Substantial cloud cover, lowered level of brightness.
• Dense: Packed clouds with gaps in coverage. Low level of brightness and lowered visibility.
• Complete (1): Heavy and steel gray with only small breaks in cloud. Always bearing rain. Low visibility, horizon appears dull and foggy.
• Complete (2): During a thunderstorm, or when snow is falling, the clouds will have even less breaks in them. Low visibility, horizon appears dull and foggy.

Weather warnings[edit]

At the start of each new major weather system, a note is left on the bulletin board to inform theplayer of its imminent arrival.

• Snow Warning – Two days before snow settles on the ground, a notice appears to notify the player. The notice appears in early December.
• New Year Weather – A bulletin containing information on the following month's snow levels, temperature and the possibility of ponds freezing over. The notice is posted in mid-January.
• Summer Forecast – Headed as 'Weather Forecast', this notice appears on the first Wednesday ofMay. It reveals thesummer forecast, stating when the rainy season will start, and when the temperature should start to pick up.
• Meteor Shower – Although not a weather system, this note appears before a meteor shower labeled as a 'Weather Warning'. Meteor showers arrive at random times in the year, starting at 7 PM and lasting well into the night. These do not appear inWild World.

In addition, weather can be forecasted, providing a short-term summary of the overall conditions of the following day. If the player turns on atelevision, it will, at certain times of the day, display the weather, using symbols such as a sun, cloud or raindrop. This forecast is always correct, but is limited to generalizing the next day's weather. It cannot, therefore, give hourly predictions.

InAnimal Crossing: New Leaf, the instrument shelter, apublic works project, can inform the player of the next hour's weather.

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  Bulletin for the upcoming summer season inWild World

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  Bulletin for an upcoming meteor shower inCity Folk

Other features[edit]

• On nights where the sky is clear,meteor showers can occur. The shooting stars can be wished upon by pressing the 'A' button when it flashes through the sky. It is only possible to do this when holding no items. In games prior toNew Horizons, this will result in a present being mailed to the player, containing aspotlight item. InNew Horizons, star fragments will appear on the beach the next day.
• Rainbows can be seen very occasionally in the sky, as they only appear when the sky has cleared suddenly after many hours of heavy rain or snowfall. The rainbow fills the sky, brightening as the hour progresses, until it peaks after thirty minutes. Within the hour, it disappears. During a rainbow, the chances of finding 100 Bells in trees is increased. They appear towards the end of the day, but not at night. InNew Leaf andNew Horizons it is possible to see a double rainbow. An error in the coding of weather patterns makes it impossible to see a rainbow from October 1 to December 15 in the southern hemisphere inNew Horizons. In the first-generation games, rainbows appear above thewaterfall on clear mornings if precipitation fell the day before.
• In bothWild World andCity Folk, the sky clears when a fireworks show is due to take place. Meteors only appear on clear nights as well, and are accompanied by a twinkling noise. InNew Leaf, it will be sunny the whole day when the Fireworks show is set to take place.
• In thecity area inCity Folk, the weather is often different from that in the player's town. Snow does not settle in the city, but does on the bus that drives to and from it. If it is raining in the city, the animals there will carry umbrellas.
• Confetti falls continuously from the sky during theFestivale inCity Folk andNew Leaf. On this day, the sky tends to be very clear, as any snowfall would conflict with the fall of confetti.
• In earlyApril (or earlyOctober in the southern hemisphere), trees will grow cherry blossoms, and those cherry blossoms will float through the sky, much like confetti does during Festivale (see above). The sky is clear on these days. InNew Horizons, they can be caught with a net and used forDIY recipes.
• Players can customize the weather on aSlumber Island inAnimal Crossing: New Horizons. Slumber Islands were added in the3.0 update.

Aurora[edit]

The aurora inAnimal Crossing: New Horizons

Theaurora, also known as thenorthern lights,^[1] is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the night sky in theAnimal Crossing series beginning inAnimal Crossing: City Folk.

InAnimal Crossing: City Folk andAnimal Crossing: New Leaf, the aurora is visible on clear winter nights, and can be seen from 8 PM until 10 PM. It is at its brightest at 9 PM, shining bright shades of pink and green and moving constantly in a folding motion. InAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, it can appear in any hour with clear conditions between 7 PM and 4 AM, as long as there are no shooting stars that night.

Residents of theplayer's town may comment on the aurora when it is in the sky. It can be seen in full by adjusting the camera angle while outdoors, enabling the player to get a full view of the sky.

Patterns[edit]

InAnimal Crossing: New Horizons[edit]

There are currently 40 possible weather patterns inNew Horizons, six of which had been added in updates.^[2][3]

Appearances[edit]

Below are tables showing the chance of certain types of weather throughout the year in each game.

InAnimal Crossing[edit]

InAnimal Crossing: New Horizons[edit]

Northern hemisphere[edit]

Southern hemisphere[edit]

Gallery[edit]

This section could be improved with the addition of images.

You can help byuploading one or more images and including them on this page.

First-generation games[edit]

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  A rainbow above the waterfall inDoubutsu no Mori e+

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  Light snowfall inAnimal Crossing

Animal Crossing: Wild World[edit]

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  Clear weather in the day

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  A rainbow with sparse clouds in the day.

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  Raining in the day

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  Clouds in the evening

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  Clouds in the late evening

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  Sparse clouds at dusk

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  Raining at night

Animal Crossing: City Folk[edit]

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  A meteor falling from the sky

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  A faint rainbow

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  Dark gray clouds indicate possible rainfall

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  Snow forecast on a television

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  An aurora in the sky

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  An aurora at around 8:45 PM

Animal Crossing: New Leaf[edit]

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  A rainbow

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  A double rainbow

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  An aurora

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  An aurora

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  Checking out the instrument shelter

Animal Crossing: New Horizons[edit]

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  Clear weather

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  Sunny weather

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  Cloudy weather

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  Rain clouds. Despite the name, seeing these clouds does not always guarantee that it will rain.

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  Rainy weather

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  Snowy weather

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  Heavy rain, which darkens the sky considerably more than regular rain

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  A thunderstorm, which can only occur during hours when heavy rain occurs

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  Heavy snow

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  A rainbow near full brightness

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  A faint double rainbow

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  Two shooting stars streaking across the sky during a meteor shower at midnight

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  An aurora under a full moon around midnight

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  Cumulonimbus clouds, which can only appear from mid summer to early fall

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  Cirrocumulus clouds, which can only appear from early fall to winter

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  Heavy fog, which can only appear at 7 AM between the months of Oct–Mar (NH)/Apr–Sep (SH)

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  Weather customization on a Slumber Island

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

Gameplay elements

Player Player Mayor Catalog Catch quotes Hairstyle Passport Pockets Photo Reaction Reputation Resident Representative Skin tone Tool Town Pass Card Town Town/island Hemisphere Amenities Animal tracks Rebuild the town Acres Objects Public works projects Town fund Town initiative Town ordinance Lost and found Group Life House Happy Home Academy Balloon Event Fêng shui Home loan Letter Luck NookPhone Savings Activities Badges Bug catching Constellation Designing Fishing Mystery Island Tour Stalk Market Swimming Tour(Tortimer Island) Character AI Villager Starting villager Special character Catchphrase Compatibility Conversation Drama Friendship Hobbies Nickname Personality Scrapbook Memory Star sign Minigames NES games Doubutsu no Mori e+: Doubutsu-tachi to Asobou! Desert Island Escape Animal Crossing Puzzle League Currencies Bells Caps Leaf Tickets Leaf Tokens Hotel Tickets Medals MEOW Coupons Nook Miles Play Coins Poki Vouchers Vehicles Bus Camper RV Taxi Train Transportation Cheating Cheating device Glitch Gameplay modification Seeds Time travel Other Fourth Wall NookLink Reset Secret Code Transfer Multiplayer •Situations •Category