Climate and average weather in Vologda

In Vologda, the summers are warm, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are frigid, snowy, and mostly cloudy.

Best: late May to early September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Vologda typically varies from -12°C to 23°C, and is rarely below -27°C or above 29°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 Vologda for warm-weather activities is from late May to early September.

Hottest
Jul
23°
Coldest
Jan
-12°
Wettest
Jul
82 mm
Driest
Feb
29 mm
Rain / yr
633 mm
130 wet days
Daylight
5.8–18.2 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
125 m
59.2°N
Clearest
May
65% cloud

Vologda is city in the northwest of Russia.

Density
2,693/km²
people per km²
Founded
1147

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

Vologda 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 late May to early September.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 4.0 months, from May 10 to September 9, with daily high temperatures above 15°C. The hottest month of the year in Vologda is July, with an average high of 23°C and low of 13°C.

The cool season lasts 3.5 months, from November 19 to March 5, with daily high temperatures below -2°C. The coldest month of the year in Vologda is January, with an average low of -12°C and high of -7°C.

Days typically run about 8°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 11°C) in May.

-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan-7-12
Feb-5-12
Mar0-8
Apr9-1
May165
Jun2010
Jul2313
Aug2010
Sep146
Oct61
Nov-1-5
Dec-5-10

How hot and cold Vologda 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 -21°C (around January 29), with roughly 212 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C) 137 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-7-7-19-12
Feb-5-5-19-12
Mar00-13-8
Apr99-5-1
May161635
Jun2020910
Jul22231313
Aug20201010
Sep141436
Oct66-31
Nov-1-1-10-5
Dec-5-5-16-10

Average hourly temperature in Vologda

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 23°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -12°C.

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

Vologda 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-7° / -12°3610.312.46.60.0
Feb-6° / -12°298.29.78.80.0
Mar / -8°329.28.611.30.0
Apr / -1°388.52.914.11.8
May16° / 5711.40.516.64.8
Jun20° / 10°7811.9018.15.9
Jul23° / 13°8213.2017.56.2
Aug20° / 10°7712.7015.25.8
Sep14° / 6011.20.212.63.7
Oct / 5712.13.29.80.7
Nov-1° / -5°4710.28.17.30.0
Dec-5° / -10°3911.2125.90.0

Chance of rain

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

Vologda gets about 633 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 5.7 months, from around May 14 to Nov 1, peaking in July at about 43% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Apr 1.

July is the wettest month by volume, with 82 mm over about 13 wet days; February is the driest, with 29 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJul 20 · 43%Apr 1 · 27%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan3310
Feb308
Mar309
Apr299
May3611
Jun4012
Jul4213
Aug4013
Sep3811
Oct3912
Nov3510
Dec3511

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Vologda collects about 633 mm of rain across 130 wet days — roughly 53 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. July is the wettest month with 82 mm, while February is the driest at just 29 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 37% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0255075100JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec362932385778827760574739
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan361012
Feb29810
Mar3299
Apr3893
May57111
Jun78120
Jul82130
Aug77130
Sep60110
Oct57123
Nov47108
Dec391112

Snow in Vologda

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.

Vologda averages about 58 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Sep 26 to May 18 — about 7.7 months.

January is snowiest, with roughly 12 days of snow and an estimated 36 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 197 cm of snow.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonJan 1
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan1236
Feb1035
Mar933
Apr311
May12
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct312
Nov830
Dec1240

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Vologda, 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 13 and lasts for 6.3 months, ending around September 19. The clearest month is June, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 38% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 20 and lasts for 5.7 months, ending around March 12. The cloudiest month is December, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 94% 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 · 42%Dec 31 · 4%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan793
Feb1486
Mar2476
Apr3268
May3862
Jun3862
Jul3862
Aug3466
Sep2377
Oct1387
Nov892
Dec694

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 15, brings about 18 h 12 min of light; the shortest, around December 15, only 5 h 48 min — a swing of roughly 12 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan6.69:133:46
Feb8.88:124:58
Mar11.36:506:10
Apr14.15:177:25
May16.63:588:35
Jun18.13:169:26
Jul17.53:409:12
Aug15.24:478:02
Sep12.65:596:30
Oct9.87:115:00
Nov7.38:283:44
Dec5.99:223:11

Sunny days

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

Vologda averages about 4 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 0 and 7 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.9 months, from around Mar 7 to Sep 2. The sunniest month is May, with roughly 7 sunny days (gloomy).

The greyest month is December, down near 1 sunny days — about 88% fewer than the May peak.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedMay 137 daysDec 310 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan1Gloomy
Feb2Gloomy
Mar5Gloomy
Apr5Gloomy
May7Gloomy
Jun6Gloomy
Jul6Gloomy
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 Vologda, how humid it feels changes noticeably over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 2.8 months, from around June 6 to August 30. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 20% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around August 31 to June 5, and May is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 99% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMay 11 · 100%Jul 21 · 77%humidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan100000
Feb100000
Mar100000
Apr100000
May96310
Jun771571
Jul4931173
Aug672481
Sep94510
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 Vologda is typically light breeze, near 13 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.5 months, from around Sep 22 to Apr 7. The windiest month is December, averaging about 14 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Apr 8 to Sep 21, with July the calmest month at about 11 km/h.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeDec 18 · 14 km/hJul 26 · 10 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan14light breeze
Feb14light breeze
Mar14light breeze
Apr13light breeze
May12light breeze
Jun12calm
Jul11calm
Aug11calm
Sep13light breeze
Oct14light breeze
Nov14light breeze
Dec14light breeze

Best time to visit Vologda

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late May, Vologda is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

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 Vologda for general outdoor tourist activities is from late May to early September, with a peak score in the third week of July.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 17 · 6.2

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
Apr1.8poor
May4.8fair
Jun5.9good
Jul6.2good
Aug5.7good
Sep3.7fair
Oct0.8poor
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 Vologda 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 21 · 4.7

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 Vologda, 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 23°C), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near -7°C), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Vologda sees daytime highs around 23°C and nights near 13°C. Worth packing: light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. About 13 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Vologda 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 Vologda peaks around July 13 at about 6 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 0 (low).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJul 13UV 6Dec 19UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Low
Apr3Moderate
May4Moderate
Jun5High
Jul6High
Aug4Moderate
Sep3Moderate
Oct1Low
Nov0Low
Dec0Low

Average hourly UV index in Vologda

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 7.5 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
Jun70
Jul7.50
Aug4.50
Sep00
Oct00
Nov00
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Vologda typically lasts about 185 days, from around April 19 to October 20 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from May 21 to September 23.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonMar 610%Apr 1950%May 2190%Sep 2390%Oct 2050%Jan 1010%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan831
Feb828
Mar1331
Apr4430
May8721
Jun990
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep948
Oct5931
Nov2330
Dec1231

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. Vologda banks about 595 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

0200400600800JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May31
Jun149
Jul232
Aug161
Sep22
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.

Vologda receives about 2.6 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 0.2 and 5.5 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 5.6 months, from around Mar 21 to Sep 6. The brightest month is June, averaging about 5.4 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 0.2 kWh/m² — roughly 96% less than the June peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 135.5 kWhDec 190.2 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan0.3Dim
Feb1.0Dim
Mar2.4Moderate
Apr3.9Moderate
May5.0Bright
Jun5.4Bright
Jul5.1Bright
Aug3.8Moderate
Sep2.2Moderate
Oct1.0Dim
Nov0.4Dim
Dec0.2Dim

Where is Vologda?

Vologda sits at 59.2°N, 39.9°E, 125 m above sea level, in Russia. The nearest listed city is Sokol, 30 km away.

Topography around Vologda

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Vologda has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 39 m around an average of 120 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 115 m; within 80 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 167 m.

The land around Vologda is covered by artificial surfaces (56%) and trees (36%) within 3 km, trees (50%) and cropland (28%) within 16 km, and trees (77%) within 80 km.

3 km
39 m
16 km
115 m
80 km
167 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
Nearby: Sokol 30 km · Gryazovets 44 km · Sheksna 78 km · Cherepovets 113 km · Danilov 116 km · Buy 126 km · Rybinsk 144 km · Tutayev 152 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 Vologda (59.2239°, 39.884°, elevation 125 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).