Russian Weather is characterized as continental because of its size and dense configuration.  The largest part of Russia is more than 400 kilometers from the sea.  The annual average temperature of almost all European Russia is below freezing, as well as the average for most of Siberia is freezing. Most of Russia has merely two seasons, summer and winter, with short periods of moderate weather between them.

However, Russian Weather in some areas is completely different to the above description.  Areas such as the Kaliningrad Oblast on the Baltic Sea have a mild maritime climate, similar to that of the American Northwest. Furthermore, the Russian Far East, since it is immediately affected by the Pacific Ocean, has a monsoonal climate which reverses the direction of wind and thus, causes extreme temperature fluctuation.

During winter Russian Weather a powerful high-pressure system causes winds to blow from the south and the southwest all over Russian (except the Pacific region), whereas, in summer a low-pressure system brings winds from the north and the northwest.

South and North Russian Weather does not differ that much.  The average temperatures during January are -8°C in St. Petersburg, -27°C in the West Siberian Plain, and -43°C at Yakutsk, while the winter average on the Mongolian border, is barely warmer.  However, summer weather is more influenced by latitude.  The Arctic islands average is 4°C, whereas the southernmost regions’ average is 20°C. The lowest temperature ever marked in Russia was -94°C, recorded at Verkhoyansk in north-central Siberia, while the highest was 38°C, recorded at various areas in the south.

As already mentioned, Russian Weather is hardly influenced by the ocean, and thus, most of the country receives low to moderate amounts of rainfall.  Most of the precipitation occurs in the northwest with the wettest areas being the small region near Caucasus and along the Pacific coast.  The average annual precipitation on the Baltic coast is 600 mm, and in Moscow it is 525 mm.   The average annual days of snow fall and snow cover, depends on both latitude and altitude. Snow cover ranges from 40 to 200 days in European Russia, and from 115 to 245 days in Siberia.

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