Weather in Nizhny Novgorod

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Century-ahead forecast

The climate of Nizhny Novgorod is classified as moderately continental, with hot summers and cold winters, and a clearly defined change of four seasons. Annual precipitation reaches up to 530 mm.[1] The weather in the Upper Part is more humid and cold compared to the Zarechka area, which is drier and warmer.[1]

Winter in Nizhny Novgorod lasts about five months — from November to the end of March; a stable snow cover forms in November and persists until the end of March. The average January temperature is −12 °C, though in some parts of the Region frosts can reach −44 °C.[1] Spring in Nizhny Novgorod lasts about two months and begins in April, when temperatures rise above zero; snow melts in mid-April. The average number of sunny days in May is 11.[1] True summer in Nizhny Novgorod arrives in the second ten-day period of June; temperatures climb to +27…+30 °C, and in some years to +39 °C. The average daily temperature in July is +19 °C.[1]

Climate summary

The climate of Nizhny Novgorod is moderately continental: winters are cold and prolonged, summers are warm and relatively short. Due to differences in terrain, the low-lying Zarechka part of the city is slightly warmer than the Upper Town, and the difference in annual precipitation between the two parts reaches 15–20%. Long-term average January temperatures range from −11.6 °C in the lowland areas to −12 °C in the upper-town areas; July averages are +18.4 °C and +18.1 °C respectively; the mean annual temperature is +4.8 °C, mean air humidity 76%, and wind speed 2.8 m/s. The city stands at the confluence of two large rivers, which makes fog frequent and summer humidity high.[2]

Average annual precipitation is 653 mm — highest in July, lowest in March; precipitation occurs on approximately 180 days per year. Snow begins to fall in October; a stable snow cover settles in late November and breaks up by mid-April. Typical winter temperatures are −10…−20 °C, with some January nights dropping to −40 °C; winter thunderstorms occur occasionally (recorded in 1940, 1951, 1960, and 1962).[2]

The sun shines for approximately 1,775 hours per year; daylight ranges from 6 hours 52 minutes in December to 17 hours 44 minutes in June. Positive temperatures become established around April 5 and persist until the end of October; summer begins in early June, the peak of heat falls in the third ten-day period of July, with around 20 thunderstorm days in summer. The city's first weather station was opened in 1834; a century later it was reorganized into the Gorky Hydrometeorology Service, and since 1978 has operated as the Upper Volga Hydrometeorological Authority.[2]

Sources

  1. tutu.ru — Climate of Nizhny Novgorod: weather by month, seasons
  2. Wikipedia (ru) — Nizhny Novgorod — "Nizhny Novgorod (section 'Climate')" (material on the article's topic)