Climate of Moscow


has a humid continental climate with warm, sometimes hot, somewhat humid summers and long, cold winters.
Typical high temperatures in the warm months of June, July and August are around, but during heat waves, which can occur anytime from May to September, daytime temperature highs often top for sometimes one or two weeks. In the winter, temperatures normally drop to approximately, though there can be periods of warmth with temperatures rising above. Summer lasts from mid-May to the beginning of September. Winter lasts from the beginning of November to the end of March.

Monthly averages and records for Moscow

The highest temperature ever recorded was on July 29, 2010, and minimum temperature recorded was. In 2007 three record highs for the month occurred – January, March, and May ; in 2008, there were new record highs for December and the entire winter:. On July 23, 2010, the temperature reached and continued to set record highs each following day until it finally reached on July 29, 2010. In November 2010 a new month record high of occurred.
Average annual temperature in Moscow is, but recently it has been higher than. In the first half of the 20th century, there was light night frost in late summer. 2019 become the warmest in the history of meteorological observations, the average annual temperature was, the average daily maximum was .
Monthly rainfall totals vary minimally throughout the year, although the precipitation levels tend to be higher during the summer than during the winter. Due to the significant variation in temperature between the winter and summer months as well as the limited fluctuation in precipitation levels during the summer, Moscow is considered to be within a continental climate zone.
Most of records and averages are given for VVC weather station, located in the North-Eastern administrative okrug of Moscow. The temperature from this station averages 0.5–1 C° lower than in the city center, and 0.5–2 C° higher than night minimums in the suburbs.
Year ofJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYearYear ofJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Record high 2007198920142012200719012010201018901915201320082010high avg t°C2020199020072000197919992010201018471967201320062019
Record low 1940192919131879188519161886188518811960189019401940low avg t°C1893192918601929191819041904188419931976184417881862

Type of precipitation

Most precipitation in Moscow falls as rain, but in winter months almost all precipitation falls as snow, forming firm snow cover. The last wet snow precipitation may be in the beginning of May, and it may restart at the end of September.
Type of precipitationJan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec year
snow2016111000003101879
mixed54651000148741
rain1131012141414151262103

Snow cover

Snow cover forms at the beginning of November and melts in early April, although in recent years has not lasted as long as usual. For example, in the winter of 2006–2007 the snow cover didn't form until the end of January, and melted at the beginning of March; in 2007–2008, the snow cover melted at the end of February, and in the 2008–2009 winter, snow cover didn't form until the end of December, which is one month later than usual. Yet in 2011–2012 it melted in the middle of April.
monthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
number of days3128284-----31628
height 2635292------313
max.height 63727861-----192545

Wind

Speed of wind

The average wind speed is very high. In the city it is near 5 metres per second; in open places and airports it may top 6 metres per second.

Wind Storms and Tornadoes

A few times per season, often in the May–September period during thunderstorms, wind speed may exceed 15–35 metres per second. The last powerful wind storm was in 1998, when wind speed was 30–35 metres per second. 157 persons were injured, 8 died, and 2157 buildings were damaged.
Tornadoes were recorded in 1904 and 1945 in Moscow and in 1970, 1971, the 1984 Yaroslavl tornado, 1987, 1994, and 1997 in Moscow Oblast 100 km south-east from Moscow, in 2005 in Dubna, and on 3 August 2007 in Krasnogorsk.
In the 3 June 2009 tornado, F3 registered near Sergiyev Posad, Moscow oblast.
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecyear
2.52.52.52.52.22.11.91.82.02.42.52.62.3

Сloudiness and day light

Number of clear, cloudy and overcast days

On average Moscow has 1731 hours of sunshine in a year. In 2004–2008, near 1800–2000 hours.
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecyear
Clear 89108117810853482
Partial sunshine11101317162020171613910184
Cloudy 129954344612181798

Daylight, average number of hours/day

Duration of daylight depends on geographical position of Moscow. It varies from 7 hours 00 minutes on December 22 to 17 hours 34 minutes on June 22. The maximum height of the sun above the horizon is 11° on 22 December and 58° on 22 June.
Near the day of the summer solstice, the sun does not fall below −12°. Thus the astronomical twilight does not occur in this period. Nevertheless, lighting of the navigational twilight is not enough for normal human activity, so the streets need artificial illumination, and it is believed that there are no so-called white nights in Moscow, although the sky remains dark blue, and not black, as, for example, in southern Russia.
HoursJan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Day7.99.711.914.316.317.416.814.912.710.58.47.2
Night16.114.312.19.77.76.67.29.111.313.515.616.8