The city of Nizhny Novgorod is located in the middle part of the temperate zone, at the confluence of the two largest waterways of Russia: the Volga and the Oka. This significantly affected the terrain and climate, which is characterized by a short summer and a fairly long winter.
What is the climate in Nizhny Novgorod?
The city is located in the center of the East European Plain. The temperate continental climate prevails here. Nizhny Novgorod is divided into 2 parts by the Oka River: Nagornaya and Zarechnaya. The upland part is located at around 150-200 meters above sea level, and Zarechnaya - 80 meters.
Due to the large difference in relief in the Upland, it is always a little colder (about 0.5-1.5 degrees). On average, 15-20% more precipitation falls on it per year. The average monthly temperature in the Zarechnaya part of the city ranges from -11.5 degrees in January to +18.5 in July. And in the Upland, the average annual temperature is +18 degrees in July and -12 degrees in January.
Both summer heat and winter frosts indicate the formation of relatively stable anticyclones, which, nevertheless, are inferior in frequency to cyclones.
Climate features of Nizhny Novgorod
Precipitation cyclones bring warm air from the Atlantic with northwesterly and westerly winds. Weather conditions in the temperate continental climate of Nizhny Novgorod are unstable throughout the year. Tropical and arctic winds cause winter frosts, summer cooling, thaws in winter and summer heat.
The sun in the city shines about 1775 hours a year. The minimum length of daylight in December is 6 hours 52 minutes, and the maximum in June is 17 hours 44 minutes. In winter, there is a lot of cloud cover; up to 80% of the time, clouds cover the sky. Since April, clear skies have been pleasing to residents more often - up to 56% of the time.
In autumn and winter, clouds often cover the sky in the morning, during the day the weather clears up. In summer and spring, on the contrary, it is cloudless in the morning, and during the day cumulus clouds appear in the sky, disappearing in the evening.
How much rain falls per year?
Due to the fact that the climate of Nizhny Novgorod is more continental, the temperature in the city is slightly higher in summer than in Moscow, and lower in winter. The positive temperature is established around April 5 and begins to fall only in early October, although in recent years there has been a long “golden autumn” without precipitation and frost.
On average, 653 mm of precipitation falls annually. Their maximum occurs in July (73 mm) and June (76 mm), and the minimum number is in February-April (38 mm). In some years, there were situations when less than 1 mm of precipitation fell in February and April, and 72 mm fell in 1 day in July, and the total monthly precipitation was 224 mm.
Most rains occur in July, and least in March. With precipitation, approximately 180 days a year are observed. The first snow most often falls in mid-October, but completely covers the ground only at the end of November. By this time, approximately 25-30 cm of snow falls. All snow melts by the end of April.
Summer rains in most cases are short-lived but intense. In total, during the summer period it can be approximately 20 days with showers, thunderstorms, a strong wind with a maximum air speed of up to 30 meters per second. Sometimes hail falls, and there are cases of tornadoes (as in the summer of 1974).
By September, the temperature quickly drops to +10 degrees. The rainy season begins, which can go quite a long time.
Temperature norm
Winter in the region lasts about 6 months. In winter, the temperature does not fluctuate too much (from -10 to -20 degrees), but due to the continental climate of Nizhny Novgorod, temperatures in winter can jump to -42 degrees. Severe frosts occur in January-February.
However, there may be thaws in winter. There were years when it rained on New Year's Day, and the air temperature rose to + 3-5 degrees. In the south of the region, snow lies for about 150 days, and in the north it lasts up to 160 days.
Climate at different times of the year
Spring comes quickly, snowmelt begins towards the end of March, and by the beginning of May the snow is already completely melting. Only in deep ravines and Nizhny Novgorod forests can snow melt until mid-May. April is characterized by a lot of rain and wet snow. The temperature is kept within 0 degrees.
In May and sometimes even in June, frosts can sharply return. Sometimes it even snows. This cooling is often accompanied by heavy rainfall.
Stable warm temperature is set in early June (approximately 10-15 numbers). At this time, the city begins summer. The hottest days come in the third decade of July. At this time, the average temperature fluctuates at around + 22 ... + 25 degrees, but can reach +36 degrees and even more. Sometimes this temperature regime lasts for several weeks. The result is drought.
There were also years when the cooler and rainy summer months were observed. People call this summer “rotten”.
In general, the climate of Nizhny Novgorod is favorable for human health and for the growth of crops. Droughts and heavy rains are quite rare and usually do not apply to the entire region, but only to some of its zones.