Quite often you can hear people in Moscow complaining about the weather. That rain, then snow strives to interfere with their plans. Many people believe that in our latitudes not the best climate, but someone, on the contrary, loves such a variety of weather conditions. However, if we look at the statistics, then the annual rainfall in Moscow is not so big compared to many other regions. Probably, it is worth analyzing the climate of Moscow in more detail . Only after this will it be possible to correctly assess the weather conditions.
Moscow Climate
The wonderful city of Moscow lies in a strip of temperate continental climate. In a sense, the inhabitants of these latitudes are very lucky, because here extremely rarely there are severe frosts and too hot weather. Even if such weather conditions occur, they last a very short time. Frosts in this band are usually set for a period of about 2-3 weeks, after which the temperature still begins to rise.
As for the heat, it can last longer than the cold: from 3-4 days to a very long time. Sometimes high temperatures can last even up to 1.5 months. The main factor influencing the formation of such a climate is primarily the geographical location. The city is located on the East European Plain, therefore, both cold and heat waves can freely propagate here. About 30 thunderstorms are observed in Moscow in one year, most often from May to September.
The main features of the Moscow climate
Now it's time to talk about what annual rainfall in Moscow usually falls. For 12 months, from 600 to 800 mm of atmospheric precipitation falls on the territory of the capital, as well as on the lands adjacent to it . Of course, there were record numbers that exceeded the usual figure. For example, in 2013, the annual rainfall in Moscow amounted to 891 mm, which is significantly higher than that observed in all previous years. Many people wonder what month is the coldest in a year. Over the past 30 years, this honorary title belongs to February. The average temperature of this winter month is -6.7 ° C. January is not far behind. Its average values are -6.5 ° C.
It is worth talking about the pleasant. July is recognized as the warmest month, at which time the average temperature is at +19.2 ° C. Muscovites are very fond of sunny weather, however, often it lasts a short time. Periodically in Moscow there is such a thing as fog. It appears throughout the year. But most often the fog can be observed in June, as well as in autumn - in September and October.
General annual average
It is necessary to talk about other indicators that also significantly affect the climate of the city. Of course, this is a great many factors that meteorologists carefully record. They collect the necessary statistics and analyze it in order to make further forecasts. It is worth noting the average performance for the year. So, the average annual indicators of Moscow are as follows:
- The temperature is +5.8 ° C (sometimes it exceeded this threshold and reached +7 ° C, similar phenomena were noted in 2008 and 2015).
- Humidity - 76%.
- Wind speed - 2.3 meters per second.
Interestingly, there is an indicator that measures the average number of hours of sunshine per year. This number is 1731 hours. Some years of observation showed more than 2 thousand hours of sun. Such an indicator was recorded in 2007 and 2014.
Annual rainfall in Moscow: the lowest rates
The average precipitation in Moscow has already been considered above. However, it is interesting to know whether this number is often lower. If the amount of rain and snow falls below the average, then we can say that the year is considered to be dry. So, it has already been said that the average annual rainfall in Moscow in different years is from 600 to 800 mm. The largest part of them usually falls in the summer season, and the least of them can be observed in March and in April.
The driest year that has been observed in the entire history of measurements is 1920. Then the annual rainfall in Moscow in mm was only 336. In the 21st century, the driest period was 2014. Throughout this year, a rainfall of 491 mm was recorded.
How are measurements taken?
So, above we considered such important indicators as the average annual temperature, air humidity, annual rainfall in Moscow, etc. It is also important to consider how they are measured and where they are recorded.
There are several weather stations in Moscow that deal directly with this issue. The main agency, whose indicators are considered official, is a weather station located at VDNH. Its data are used by various government agencies to post information on actual weather and temperature records in Moscow. The readings help calculate the temperature and precipitation rates for the current period. The weather station at VDNH was opened in 1939. During its existence, it was several times transferred to different places within VDNH. It was also reorganized. Nevertheless, it functions at the present time.