Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Severo-Kuril’sk Russia

In Severo-Kuril’sk, the summers are short, cold, and mostly cloudy and the winters are long, freezing, snowy, extremely windy, and overcast. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 24°F to 55°F and is rarely below 19°F or above 58°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Severo-Kuril’sk for warm-weather activities is for the entire month of August.

The warm season lasts for 2.7 months, from July 6 to September 28, with an average daily high temperature above 50°F. The hottest month of the year in Severo-Kuril’sk is August, with an average high of 55°F and low of 51°F.

The cold season lasts for 4.4 months, from December 3 to April 14, with an average daily high temperature below 33°F. The coldest month of the year in Severo-Kuril’sk is February, with an average low of 24°F and high of 28°F.

In Severo-Kuril’sk, 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 Severo-Kuril’sk begins around July 18 and lasts for 4.0 months, ending around November 18.

The clearest month of the year in Severo-Kuril’sk is September, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 46% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 18 and lasts for 8.0 months, ending around July 18.

The cloudiest month of the year in Severo-Kuril’sk is February, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 85% 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 Severo-Kuril’sk varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.2 months, from August 9 to December 15, with a greater than 30% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Severo-Kuril’sk is October, with an average of 12.4 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.8 months, from December 15 to August 9. The month with the fewest wet days in Severo-Kuril’sk is June, with an average of 6.3 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 Severo-Kuril’sk changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 8.6 months, from April 3 to December 21. The month with the most days of rain alone in Severo-Kuril’sk is October, with an average of 12.3 days.

Snow alone is the most common for 2.9 months, from December 21 to March 20. The month with the most days of snow alone in Severo-Kuril’sk is February, with an average of 4.3 days.

Mixed snow and rain is the most common for 2.0 weeks, from March 20 to April 3. The month with the most days of mixed snow and rain in Severo-Kuril’sk is March, with an average of 2.7 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. Severo-Kuril’sk experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Severo-Kuril’sk. The month with the most rain in Severo-Kuril’sk is October, with an average rainfall of 4.3 inches.

The month with the least rain in Severo-Kuril’sk is February, with an average rainfall of 0.5 inches.

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Severo-Kuril’sk experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 5.9 months, from November 6 to May 1, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in Severo-Kuril’sk is February, with an average snowfall of 11.8 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 6.1 months, from May 1 to November 6. The least snow falls around August 4, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Severo-Kuril’sk varies extremely over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 7 hours, 58 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 16 hours, 29 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 4:22 AM on June 17, and the latest sunrise is 4 hours, 15 minutes later at 8:37 AM on December 31. The earliest sunset is at 4:30 PM on December 12, and the latest sunset is 4 hours, 22 minutes later at 8:52 PM on June 25.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Severo-Kuril’sk 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 Severo-Kuril’sk, 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, remaining a virtually constant 0% 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 Severo-Kuril’sk experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.0 months, from September 24 to April 23, with average wind speeds of more than 14.4 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Severo-Kuril’sk is November, with an average hourly wind speed of 19.4 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.0 months, from April 23 to September 24. The calmest month of the year in Severo-Kuril’sk is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.3 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Severo-Kuril’sk varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the north for 1.5 months, from January 10 to February 24, with a peak percentage of 39% on January 26. The wind is most often from the west for 11 months, from February 24 to January 10, with a peak percentage of 38% on January 1.

Severo-Kuril’sk is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 2.5 months, from July 17 to October 2, with an average temperature above 47°F. The month of the year in Severo-Kuril’sk with the warmest water is August, with an average temperature of 50°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 4.9 months, from December 21 to May 16, with an average temperature below 36°F. The month of the year in Severo-Kuril’sk with the coolest water is March, with an average temperature of 33°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Severo-Kuril’sk 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 Severo-Kuril’sk for general outdoor tourist activities is for the entire month of August, with a peak score in the second week of August.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F.

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 Severo-Kuril’sk typically lasts for 6.3 months (195 days), from around May 3 to around November 13, rarely starting before April 18 or after May 18, and rarely ending before October 29 or after November 29.

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.

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 significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 4.2 months, from April 21 to August 27, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 4.2 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Severo-Kuril’sk is June, with an average of 5.0 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.8 months, from October 28 to February 22, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 1.5 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Severo-Kuril’sk is December, with an average of 0.6 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Severo-Kuril’sk are 50.675 deg latitude, 156.127 deg longitude, and 30 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Severo-Kuril’sk contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 1,112 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 185 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (3,763 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (7,533 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Severo-Kuril’sk is covered by water (78%) and shrubs (17%), within 10 miles by water (45%) and trees (16%), and within 50 miles by water (87%).