Climate and average weather in Moscow

In Moscow, the summers are hot, dry, and clear and the winters are cold, snowy, and mostly cloudy.

Best: early August to early October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Moscow typically varies from 26°F to 83°F, and is rarely below 9°F or above 95°F. July is the hottest month of the year, while December is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Moscow for warm-weather activities are from early June to late July and early August to early October.

Hottest
Jul
83°
Coldest
Dec
26°
Wettest
Dec
3.3 in
Driest
Jul
0.4 in
Rain / yr
24.2 in
110 wet days
Daylight
8.3–15.7 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
2,579 ft
46.7°N
Clearest
Jul
27% cloud

Moscow is city in Latah County, Idaho, USA.

Density
1,411/km²
people per km²
Founded
1871

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

Moscow 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 August to early October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 2.9 months, from June 20 to September 16, with daily high temperatures above 73°F. The hottest month of the year in Moscow is July, with an average high of 83°F and low of 58°F.

The cool season lasts 3.6 months, from November 14 to March 2, with daily high temperatures below 45°F. The coldest month of the year in Moscow is December, with an average low of 26°F and high of 36°F.

Days typically run about 18°F warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 26°F) in August.

20°40°60°80°100°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan3626
Feb4128
Mar4933
Apr5738
May6545
Jun7251
Jul8358
Aug8357
Sep7350
Oct5940
Nov4431
Dec3626

How hot and cold Moscow 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 18°F (around January 1), with roughly 163 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F), worst in January.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan36361926
Feb41412228
Mar49492733
Apr57573438
May65654245
Jun72725051
Jul83835858
Aug83835757
Sep73734950
Oct59593640
Nov44442631
Dec36361926

Average hourly temperature in Moscow

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 83°F, and coldest before dawn in December, near 26°F.

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

Moscow weather by month

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

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan36° / 26°3.113.78.78.80.0
Feb41° / 28°2.411.56.3100.1
Mar49° / 33°2.8134.311.61.9
Apr57° / 38°2.211.21.113.33.8
May65° / 45°2.19.60.214.86.0
Jun72° / 51°1.36.10.115.67.3
Jul83° / 58°0.42.4015.37.3
Aug83° / 57°0.52.30147.3
Sep73° / 50°0.84.2012.48.0
Oct59° / 40°2.190.410.64.7
Nov44° / 31°3.213.14.89.20.8
Dec36° / 26°3.314.19.78.40.0

Chance of rain

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

Moscow gets about 24.2 in 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 7.2 months, from around Oct 19 to May 25, peaking in January at about 47% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jul 31.

December is the wettest month by volume, with 3.3 in over about 14 wet days; July is the driest, with 0.4 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJan 6 · 47%Jul 31 · 5%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan4414
Feb4112
Mar4213
Apr3711
May3110
Jun206
Jul82
Aug82
Sep144
Oct299
Nov4313
Dec4614

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Moscow collects about 24.2 in of rain across 110 wet days — roughly 2.0 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. December is the wettest month with 3.3 in, while July is the driest at just 0.4 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 40% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

00.511.522.533.54JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec3.12.42.82.22.11.30.40.50.82.13.23.3
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan3.1149
Feb2.4126
Mar2.8134
Apr2.2111
May2.1100
Jun1.360
Jul0.420
Aug0.520
Sep0.840
Oct2.190
Nov3.2135
Dec3.31410

Snow in Moscow

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.

Moscow averages about 36 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 20 to Apr 26 — about 6.2 months.

December is snowiest, with roughly 9 days of snow and an estimated 15 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 57 in of snow.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonDec 25
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan917
Feb611
Mar45
Apr11
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct01
Nov58
Dec1015

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Moscow, 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 June 4 and lasts for 4.5 months, ending around October 18. The clearest month is July, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 83% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 19 and lasts for 7.5 months, ending around June 3. The cloudiest month is December, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 70% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJul 27 · 87%Dec 16 · 28%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan3268
Feb3763
Mar3466
Apr3862
May4654
Jun5941
Jul8317
Aug8218
Sep7030
Oct5347
Nov3565
Dec3070

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 20, brings about 15 h 42 min of light; the shortest, around December 19, only 8 h 18 min — a swing of roughly 7 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan8.87:354:19
Feb10.07:035:03
Mar11.66:105:45
Apr13.35:086:28
May14.84:207:09
Jun15.63:597:37
Jul15.34:147:33
Aug14.04:516:53
Sep12.45:325:52
Oct10.66:144:52
Nov9.27:004:07
Dec8.47:333:55

Sunny days

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

Moscow averages about 11 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 5 and 23 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.1 months, from around Jun 15 to Oct 18. The sunniest month is July, with roughly 21 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is March, down near 5 sunny days — about 74% fewer than the July peak.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantJul 2923 daysMar 285 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan6Gloomy
Feb6Gloomy
Mar6Gloomy
Apr6Gloomy
May9Mixed
Jun11Mixed
Jul21Bright
Aug21Bright
Sep16Bright
Oct12Mixed
Nov7Gloomy
Dec6Gloomy

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 Moscow, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in July, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 0% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdry
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)
Jan1000
Feb1000
Mar1000
Apr1000
May991
Jun982
Jul963
Aug991
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec1000

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.

Wind in Moscow is steady company: average speeds sit near 6 mphcalm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmlight breezeApr 1 · 6 mphAug 9 · 5 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan6calm
Feb6calm
Mar6calm
Apr6calm
May6calm
Jun6calm
Jul5calm
Aug5calm
Sep5calm
Oct5calm
Nov6calm
Dec6calm

Best time to visit Moscow

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late September, Moscow 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 64°F and 82°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Moscow for general outdoor tourist activities is from early June to early October, with a peak score in the first week of September.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 5 · 8.3

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
Feb0.2poor
Mar1.9poor
Apr3.8fair
May6.0good
Jun7.3good
Jul7.3good
Aug7.3good
Sep7.9ideal
Oct4.7fair
Nov0.8poor
Dec0.0poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 75°F and 93°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Moscow for hot-weather activities is from late June to mid September, with a peak score in the last week of July.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 27 · 8.8

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 Moscow, 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 83°F), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around December (highs near 36°F), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Moscow sees daytime highs around 83°F and nights near 58°F. Pack light clothes and sun protection.

UV index (midday) in Moscow 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 Moscow peaks around July 16 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 16 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 16UV 8Dec 16UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar4Moderate
Apr5Moderate
May7High
Jun6High
Jul9Very high
Aug6High
Sep5Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in Moscow

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 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 5 hours reach 6 or more. 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
Mar3.50
Apr5.50
May7.53
Jun7.53
Jul8.55
Aug6.51.5
Sep50
Oct20
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Moscow by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Moscow is worst in August — around 27 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.6× the cleanest month (December, 8 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodModerateGoodAug 1627 µg/m³Dec 238 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan8Good
Feb9Good
Mar14Moderate
Apr15Moderate
May11Good
Jun10Good
Jul25Moderate
Aug27Moderate
Sep25Moderate
Oct18Moderate
Nov17Moderate
Dec8Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Moscow typically lasts about 249 days, from around March 11 to November 14 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 21 to October 16.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonMar 1150%Apr 2190%Oct 1690%Nov 1450%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan2431
Feb3028
Mar5731
Apr8619
May980
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct8715
Nov4830
Dec2131

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 50°F)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 50°F: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Moscow banks about 2,164 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

05001,0001,5002,0002,500JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr3
May166
Jun348
Jul632
Aug624
Sep349
Oct43
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.

Moscow receives about 4.3 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.2 and 7.7 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 5.9 months, from around Mar 29 to Sep 24. The brightest month is July, averaging about 7.6 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.2 kWh/m² — roughly 84% less than the July peak.

0123456789JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 127.7 kWhDec 161.2 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan1.4Dim
Feb2.5Moderate
Mar3.7Moderate
Apr5.3Bright
May6.5Intense
Jun7.1Intense
Jul7.7Intense
Aug6.7Intense
Sep4.9Bright
Oct3.0Moderate
Nov1.6Dim
Dec1.2Dim

Where is Moscow?

Moscow sits at 46.7°N, 117.0°W, 2,579 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Pullman, 8.7 mi away.

Topography around Moscow

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Moscow.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Moscow has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 276 ft around an average of 2,628 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,674 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 5,820 ft.

The land around Moscow is covered by cropland (36%), grassland (24%) and artificial surfaces (22%) within 2 miles, cropland (60%) within 10 miles, and cropland (36%), grassland (32%) and trees (31%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
276 ft
10 miles
2,674 ft
50 miles
5,820 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Pullman 8.7 mi · Lewiston 22 mi · Lewiston Orchards 24 mi · Opportunity 65 mi · Spokane Valley 66 mi · Coeur d'Alene 66 mi · Spokane 67 mi · Post Falls 68 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 100% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$90,027
2025
Happiness
6.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
98%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
5.8
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
12.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Protestant 47%unaffiliated 23%Roman Catholic 21%Jewish 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 Moscow (46.7324°, -117.0002°, elevation 2,579 ft), 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. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).