Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Vorkuta Russia

In Vorkuta, the summers are short, cool, and mostly cloudy and the winters are long, frigid, snowy, windy, and overcast. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from -15°F to 62°F and is rarely below -37°F or above 76°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Vorkuta for warm-weather activities is for the entire month of July.

The warm season lasts for 2.7 months, from June 11 to September 2, with an average daily high temperature above 50°F. The hottest month of the year in Vorkuta is July, with an average high of 62°F and low of 47°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.8 months, from November 19 to March 11, with an average daily high temperature below 13°F. The coldest month of the year in Vorkuta is January, with an average low of -15°F and high of 1°F.

In Vorkuta, 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 Vorkuta begins around May 1 and lasts for 3.7 months, ending around August 25.

The clearest month of the year in Vorkuta is July, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 41% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around August 25 and lasts for 8.3 months, ending around May 1.

The cloudiest month of the year in Vorkuta is December, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 87% 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 Vorkuta varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 6.4 months, from April 30 to November 12, with a greater than 23% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Vorkuta is August, with an average of 10.9 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 5.6 months, from November 12 to April 30. The month with the fewest wet days in Vorkuta is February, with an average of 3.2 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 Vorkuta changes throughout the year.

Snow alone is the most common for 6.8 months, from October 13 to May 9. The month with the most days of snow alone in Vorkuta is December, with an average of 5.2 days.

Rain alone is the most common for 5.2 months, from May 9 to October 13. The month with the most days of rain alone in Vorkuta is August, with an average of 10.8 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. Vorkuta experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 6.0 months, from April 27 to October 28, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Vorkuta is July, with an average rainfall of 2.6 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 6.0 months, from October 28 to April 27. The month with the least rain in Vorkuta is January, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

Snowfall

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

The snowy period of the year lasts for 9.2 months, from September 16 to June 23, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in Vorkuta is November, with an average snowfall of 8.8 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 2.8 months, from June 23 to September 16. The least snow falls around August 3, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

Due to its extreme latitude, Vorkuta experiences polar day (also known as the midnight Sun) during the summer and polar night during the winter. These are periods of time in which the sun is continuously above or below the horizon for more than one day. The precise start and end dates of polar day and night vary from year to year and depend on the precise location and elevation of the observer, and the local topography.

In the summer in Vorkuta during 2024, the Sun is continuously above the horizon for 1.5 months, rising at 10:50 PM on May 28, and not setting again until 10:46 PM on July 13.

In the winter in Vorkuta during 2024, the Sun is continuously below the horizon for 1.7 weeks, setting at 10:49 AM on December 15, and not rising again until 10:35 AM on December 27.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Vorkuta 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 Vorkuta, 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 1% of 1% 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 Vorkuta experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 8.0 months, from October 8 to June 7, with average wind speeds of more than 10.6 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Vorkuta is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 12.4 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.0 months, from June 7 to October 8. The calmest month of the year in Vorkuta is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.9 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the west for 3.7 weeks, from April 9 to May 5 and for 1.4 weeks, from August 20 to August 30, with a peak percentage of 31% on April 10. The wind is most often from the north for 3.5 months, from May 5 to August 20, with a peak percentage of 33% on July 27. The wind is most often from the south for 7.3 months, from August 30 to April 9, with a peak percentage of 49% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Vorkuta 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 Vorkuta for general outdoor tourist activities is for the entire month of July, 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 Vorkuta for hot-weather activities is from early to mid 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 Vorkuta typically lasts for 2.5 months (78 days), from around June 14 to around August 31, rarely starting before May 30 or after June 29, and rarely ending before August 10 or after September 19.

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 Vorkuta should appear around June 27, only rarely appearing before June 16 or after July 16.

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 2.8 months, from May 4 to July 30, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 4.3 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Vorkuta is June, with an average of 5.2 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 5.2 months, from September 30 to March 5, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 1.1 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Vorkuta is December, with an average of 0.0 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Vorkuta are 67.499 deg latitude, 64.053 deg longitude, and 587 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Vorkuta contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 394 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 556 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (495 feet). Within 50 miles contains significant variations in elevation (3,917 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Vorkuta is covered by artificial surfaces (82%), within 10 miles by grassland (48%) and shrubs (25%), and within 50 miles by grassland (56%) and shrubs (28%).