Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Moscow Russia

In Moscow, the summers are comfortable and partly cloudy and the winters are long, freezing, snowy, windy, and overcast. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 12°F to 76°F and is rarely below -7°F or above 86°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Moscow for warm-weather activities is from late June to mid August.

The warm season lasts for 3.5 months, from May 17 to September 1, with an average daily high temperature above 65°F. The hottest month of the year in Moscow is July, with an average high of 75°F and low of 57°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.9 months, from November 14 to March 11, with an average daily high temperature below 34°F. The coldest month of the year in Moscow is January, with an average low of 14°F and high of 24°F.

In Moscow, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Moscow begins around April 17 and lasts for 5.1 months, ending around September 20.

The clearest month of the year in Moscow is July, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 58% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 20 and lasts for 6.9 months, ending around April 17.

The cloudiest month of the year in Moscow is December, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 76% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Moscow varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.9 months, from May 14 to November 11, with a greater than 25% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Moscow is June, with an average of 9.9 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 6.1 months, from November 11 to May 14. The month with the fewest wet days in Moscow is March, with an average of 5.3 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation in Moscow changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 8.5 months, from March 9 to November 23. The month with the most days of rain alone in Moscow is June, with an average of 9.9 days.

Snow alone is the most common for 3.5 months, from November 23 to March 9. The month with the most days of snow alone in Moscow is January, with an average of 4.4 days.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Moscow experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 8.6 months, from March 19 to December 7, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Moscow is June, with an average rainfall of 2.4 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 3.4 months, from December 7 to March 19. The month with the least rain in Moscow is January, with an average rainfall of 0.3 inches.

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Moscow experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 6.0 months, from October 14 to April 13, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in Moscow is December, with an average snowfall of 7.6 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 6.0 months, from April 13 to October 14. The least snow falls around July 14, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Moscow varies extremely over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 7 hours, 0 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 17 hours, 34 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 3:44 AM on June 17, and the latest sunrise is 5 hours, 15 minutes later at 8:59 AM on December 28. The earliest sunset is at 3:56 PM on December 14, and the latest sunset is 5 hours, 22 minutes later at 9:18 PM on June 23.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Moscow during 2024.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The perceived humidity level in Moscow, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, staying within 2% of 2% throughout.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Moscow experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 6.2 months, from October 2 to April 10, with average wind speeds of more than 10.0 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Moscow is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.9 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.8 months, from April 10 to October 2. The calmest month of the year in Moscow is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.0 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Moscow varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the south for 2.3 months, from February 9 to April 18, with a peak percentage of 35% on February 17. The wind is most often from the west for 2.9 months, from April 18 to July 16 and for 6.5 months, from July 23 to February 9, with a peak percentage of 33% on June 4. The wind is most often from the north for 1.0 weeks, from July 16 to July 23, with a peak percentage of 30% on July 21.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Moscow throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Moscow for general outdoor tourist activities is from late June to mid August, with a peak score in the third week of July.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Moscow for hot-weather activities is from early July to early August, with a peak score in the last week of July.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season in Moscow typically lasts for 5.2 months (156 days), from around April 30 to around October 4, rarely starting before April 10 or after May 21, and rarely ending before September 15 or after October 24.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms in Moscow should appear around May 4, only rarely appearing before April 26 or after May 14.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.4 months, from May 2 to August 15, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 4.9 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Moscow is June, with an average of 6.0 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 4.1 months, from October 17 to February 19, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 1.5 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Moscow is December, with an average of 0.4 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Moscow are 55.752 deg latitude, 37.616 deg longitude, and 482 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Moscow contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 187 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 470 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (515 feet). Within 50 miles also contains significant variations in elevation (725 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Moscow is covered by artificial surfaces (98%), within 10 miles by artificial surfaces (82%) and trees (13%), and within 50 miles by trees (66%) and cropland (18%).