Vladivostok - Climate

Climate

Vladivostok has a monsoon influenced humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dwb) with warm, humid and rainy summers and cold, dry winters. Owing to the influence of the Siberian High, winters are cold and dry with a January average of −12.3 °C (9.9 °F). In winter, temperatures can drop below −20 °C (−4 °F) while mild spells of weather can rise daytime temperatures above freezing. The average precipitation, mainly in the form of snow is around 18.5 millimeters (0.73 in) from December to March. Snowfall is common during the winter months, but individual snowfalls are light, with a maximum snow depth of only 5 centimeters (2.0 in) in January. During the winter months, clear and sunny days are common.

Summers are warm, humid and rainy, due to the East Asian monsoon. The warmest month is August, with an average temperature of +19.8 °C (67.6 °F). Most of the precipitation that Vladivostok receives falls during the summer months and with many days receiving precipitation. Cloudy days are fairly common and with the presence of rainfall, humidity is high, reaching up to 90% in July and August. Overall, Vladivostok receives 840 millimeters (33 in) per year but this can vary. The wettest month was August 1943 when 418 millimeters (16.5 in) of precipitation fell while the wettest year was in 1974 with 1,272 millimeters (50.1 in) of precipitation. On the other end, the months December to March have no precipitation at all in some years and the driest year was 1990 with only 244 millimeters (9.6 in). Extremes range from −31.4 °C (−24.5 °F) in January 1931 to +33.6 °C (92.5 °F) in July 1939.