Climate and average weather in Petrozavodsk

In Petrozavodsk, the summers are mild, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are frigid, snowy, and mostly cloudy.

Best: early June to late August

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Petrozavodsk typically varies from -12°C to 21°C, and is rarely below -26°C or above 27°C. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Petrozavodsk for warm-weather activities is from early June to late August.

Hottest
Jul
21°
Coldest
Jan
-12°
Wettest
Aug
88 mm
Driest
Feb
27 mm
Rain / yr
629 mm
131 wet days
Daylight
4.8–19.2 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
73 m
61.8°N
Clearest
May
65% cloud

Petrozavodsk is capital city of the Republic of Karelia in north-western Russia.

Density
2,068/km²
people per km²
Founded
1703

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Petrozavodsk weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around early June to late August.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Petrozavodsk, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 3.8 months, from May 20 to September 11, with daily high temperatures above 14°C. The hottest month of the year in Petrozavodsk is July, with an average high of 21°C and low of 13°C.

The cool season lasts 3.4 months, from November 26 to March 7, with daily high temperatures below -2°C. The coldest month of the year in Petrozavodsk is January, with an average low of -12°C and high of -6°C.

Days typically run about 7°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 10°C) in May.

-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan-6-11
Feb-5-12
Mar0-7
Apr7-2
May144
Jun189
Jul2113
Aug1911
Sep137
Oct62
Nov0-4
Dec-4-8

How hot and cold Petrozavodsk really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -20°C (around January 30), with roughly 215 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C) 131 of them bitterly cold — worst in January.

-20°-10°10°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan-6-6-18-11
Feb-6-5-18-12
Mar00-13-7
Apr77-6-2
May131414
Jun181889
Jul21211213
Aug19191011
Sep131347
Oct66-22
Nov00-9-4
Dec-4-4-14-8

Average hourly temperature in Petrozavodsk

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 21°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -12°C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Petrozavodsk weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-6° / -12°328.8115.90.0
Feb-6° / -12°278.29.98.40.0
Mar-0° / -7°338.89.511.30.0
Apr / -2°3794.914.30.9
May14° / 5510.91.317.23.7
Jun18° / 6812.10195.5
Jul21° / 13°8614018.25.8
Aug19° / 11°8813.4015.65.4
Sep13° / 5811.6012.63.5
Oct / 5511.52.89.60.6
Nov-0° / -4°491186.70.0
Dec-4° / -8°4111.411.950.0

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Petrozavodsk gets about 629 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 6.9 months, from around May 20 to Dec 14, peaking in July at about 48% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Apr 28.

August is the wettest month by volume, with 88 mm over about 13 wet days; February is the driest, with 27 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJul 22 · 48%Apr 28 · 28%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan309
Feb298
Mar299
Apr309
May3411
Jun4112
Jul4514
Aug4313
Sep3912
Oct3712
Nov3711
Dec3511

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Petrozavodsk collects about 629 mm of rain across 131 wet days — roughly 52 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. August is the wettest month with 88 mm, while February is the driest at just 27 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 38% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0255075100125JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec322733375568868858554941
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan32911
Feb27810
Mar33910
Apr3795
May55111
Jun68120
Jul86140
Aug88130
Sep58120
Oct55123
Nov49118
Dec411112

Snow in Petrozavodsk

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Petrozavodsk averages about 59 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 1 to May 26 — about 7.8 months.

December is snowiest, with roughly 11 days of snow and an estimated 39 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 220 cm of snow.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonDec 21
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan1139
Feb1032
Mar1035
Apr523
May16
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct311
Nov836
Dec1239

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Petrozavodsk, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around March 8 and lasts for 6.4 months, ending around September 19. The clearest month is May, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 37% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 20 and lasts for 5.6 months, ending around March 7. The cloudiest month is December, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 92% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecAug 2 · 39%Dec 3 · 6%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan991
Feb1387
Mar2773
Apr3169
May3763
Jun3763
Jul3565
Aug3169
Sep2377
Oct1585
Nov991
Dec892

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 18, brings about 19 h 12 min of light; the shortest, around December 18, only 4 h 48 min — a swing of roughly 14 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan5.99:583:45
Feb8.48:455:09
Mar11.37:146:30
Apr14.35:327:54
May17.24:029:16
Jun19.03:0910:16
Jul18.23:399:58
Aug15.64:578:36
Sep12.66:206:54
Oct9.67:405:15
Nov6.79:083:47
Dec5.010:133:05

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Petrozavodsk averages about 4 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 1 and 7 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.9 months, from around Mar 4 to Aug 29. The sunniest month is May, with roughly 7 sunny days (gloomy).

The greyest month is November, down near 1 sunny days — about 84% fewer than the May peak.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedMay 147 daysNov 211 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan2Gloomy
Feb2Gloomy
Mar5Gloomy
Apr5Gloomy
May7Gloomy
Jun6Gloomy
Jul5Gloomy
Aug5Gloomy
Sep3Gloomy
Oct2Gloomy
Nov1Gloomy
Dec1Gloomy

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Petrozavodsk, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in July, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 14% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMay 10 · 100%Jul 24 · 82%humidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan100000
Feb100000
Mar100000
Apr100000
May98100
Jun861030
Jul5630122
Aug682471
Sep95500
Oct100000
Nov100000
Dec100000

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in Petrozavodsk is typically light breeze, near 12 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.7 months, from around Sep 13 to Apr 3. The windiest month is December, averaging about 14 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Apr 4 to Sep 12, with July the calmest month at about 11 km/h.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeDec 19 · 14 km/hJul 19 · 11 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan13light breeze
Feb13light breeze
Mar13light breeze
Apr12calm
May12calm
Jun11calm
Jul11calm
Aug11calm
Sep13light breeze
Oct13light breeze
Nov14light breeze
Dec14light breeze

Best time to visit Petrozavodsk

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Petrozavodsk throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around late August, Petrozavodsk is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Petrozavodsk for general outdoor tourist activities is from early June to late August, with a peak score in the first week of July.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 6 · 5.9

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan0.0poor
Feb0.0poor
Mar0.0poor
Apr0.9poor
May3.7fair
Jun5.4fair
Jul5.8good
Aug5.4fair
Sep3.4poor
Oct0.7poor
Nov0.0poor
Dec0.0poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Petrozavodsk for hot-weather activities is from late June to early August, with a peak score in the third week of July.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 19 · 3.7

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Petrozavodsk, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 21°C), the essentials are rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near -6°C), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Petrozavodsk sees daytime highs around 21°C and nights near 13°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 14 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Petrozavodsk by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Petrozavodsk peaks around July 11 at about 5 (moderate) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near December 17 at about 0 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 4 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateLowJul 11UV 5Dec 17UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar1Low
Apr3Moderate
May4Moderate
Jun5Moderate
Jul5Moderate
Aug4Moderate
Sep2Moderate
Oct1Low
Nov0Low
Dec0Low

Average hourly UV index in Petrozavodsk

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 6.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended). Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb00
Mar00
Apr00
May50
Jun6.50
Jul6.50
Aug4.50
Sep00
Oct00
Nov00
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayTypical season (≥50%)

The growing season in Petrozavodsk typically lasts about 183 days, from around April 24 to October 23 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from May 23 to September 29.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonFeb 2810%Apr 2450%May 2390%Sep 2990%Oct 2350%Jan 210%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan931
Feb928
Mar1231
Apr3630
May8323
Jun990
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep962
Oct6531
Nov2630
Dec1331

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Petrozavodsk banks about 501 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

0200400600JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May6
Jun113
Jul209
Aug152
Sep21
Oct0
Nov0
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Petrozavodsk receives about 2.5 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 0.1 and 5.5 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 5.6 months, from around Mar 22 to Sep 7. The brightest month is June, averaging about 5.4 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 0.1 kWh/m² — roughly 98% less than the June peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 115.5 kWhDec 180.1 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan0.2Dim
Feb0.8Dim
Mar2.1Moderate
Apr3.8Moderate
May5.1Bright
Jun5.4Bright
Jul5.0Bright
Aug3.6Moderate
Sep2.1Moderate
Oct0.9Dim
Nov0.3Dim
Dec0.1Dim

Where is Petrozavodsk?

Petrozavodsk sits at 61.8°N, 34.3°E, 73 m above sea level, in Russia. The nearest listed city is Kondopoga, 47 km away.

Topography around Petrozavodsk

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Petrozavodsk.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Petrozavodsk has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 125 m around an average of 85 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 250 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 294 m.

The land around Petrozavodsk is covered by artificial surfaces (54%) and trees (29%) within 3 km, trees (64%) and water (23%) within 16 km, and trees (63%) and water (32%) within 80 km.

3 km
125 m
16 km
250 m
80 km
294 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
Nearby: Kondopoga 47 km · Podporozh’ye 98 km · Lodeynoye Pole 125 km · Medvezh’yegorsk 126 km · Sortavala 192 km · Segezha 218 km · Volkhov 234 km · Priozërsk 239 km

Russia travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 4
Do Not Travel
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 32% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$17,547
2025
Happiness
5.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
76%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
6.8
per 100k, 2021
Road deaths
12
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Moderate
EF EPI 521
Religion
other Christian 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Petrozavodsk (61.7849°, 34.3469°, elevation 73 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).