Magadan climate
Magadan (Magadan Oblast, Russia) has a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc). The average temperature over the year is −3 °C27 °F, and about 770 mm30 in of precipitation falls in an average year.
Temperature by month
Precipitation by month
Magadan climate table
| Month | High °C°F | Low °C°F | Mean °C°F | Precip. mmin | Frost days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | −155 | −19−3 | −171 | 301.2 | 31 |
| Feb | −154 | −21−6 | −18−1 | 271.1 | 28 |
| Mar | −817 | −154 | −1211 | 381.5 | 31 |
| Apr | −228 | −817 | −522 | 391.5 | 30 |
| May | 440 | 032 | 236 | 612.4 | 18 |
| Jun | 1050 | 541 | 846 | 763.0 | 0 |
| Jul | 1558 | 1051 | 1254 | 953.7 | 0 |
| Aug | 1559 | 1151 | 1355 | 1204.7 | 0 |
| Sep | 1050 | 643 | 847 | 953.8 | 0 |
| Oct | 235 | −228 | 031 | 763.0 | 20 |
| Nov | −620 | −1113 | −917 | 732.9 | 29 |
| Dec | −139 | −162 | −156 | 411.6 | 31 |
| Year | 1559 | −21−6 | −327 | 77030 | 218 |
“Year” row: highest monthly high, lowest monthly low, annual mean and annual total. Frost days are for the whole grid cell.
| Month | Humid. | Cloud | Solar | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 96% | 71% | 0.4 | 6:47 |
| Feb | 93% | 67% | 1.2 | 9:05 |
| Mar | 87% | 66% | 2.7 | 11:35 |
| Apr | 86% | 67% | 4.2 | 14:25 |
| May | 87% | 72% | 4.9 | 17:00 |
| Jun | 89% | 70% | 5.3 | 18:39 |
| Jul | 90% | 72% | 4.7 | 17:56 |
| Aug | 88% | 73% | 3.7 | 15:32 |
| Sep | 84% | 70% | 2.6 | 12:43 |
| Oct | 82% | 68% | 1.5 | 10:00 |
| Nov | 92% | 73% | 0.5 | 7:27 |
| Dec | 97% | 74% | 0.2 | 6:03 |
Humid. = average relative humidity at 2 m; cloud = average cloud amount; solar = average daily solar energy reaching the ground in kWh/m² (all-sky); daylight in hours:minutes, calculated for the 15th of each month.
What the climate of Magadan is like
The warmest month is August, with an average high of 15 °C59 °F and a low of 11 °C51 °F. The coldest is February, when highs average −15 °C4 °F and lows −21 °C−6 °F. The climate is extremely continental — the average temperature swings by 31 °C55.8 °F between the coldest and the warmest month.
Annual precipitation is moderate at about 770 mm30 in. The wettest three-month stretch is July–September, which brings 40% of the annual total. The wettest month is August (120 mm4.7 in), the driest is February (27 mm1.1 in).
Relative humidity ranges from 82% in October to 97% in December. The clearest skies (lowest average cloud amount, 66%) are typical of March. Average wind speed near the ground ranges from 8 km/h (5 mph) in July to 22 km/h (14 mph) in December. Daylight lasts from about 6.0 hours in December to 18.6 hours in June.
A lasting snow cover is typical in October–May, when the average snow depth in the reanalysis exceeds 10 cm (deepest in March, about 64 cm).
Best time to visit Magadan
No month comes close to our comfort ideal here. The least demanding months are June, July and August (average highs 10 °C50 °F, 15 °C58 °F and 15 °C59 °F).
The most challenging month is February, which is cold, with average highs of −15 °C4 °F.
Comfort score: months are ranked by how close they come to an average high of 21–28 °C (70–82 °F), lows above 5 °C (41 °F), little precipitation and moderate humidity. The best-ranked months of each place are recommended, even where none meets all of these. These are general rules of thumb applied to long-term averages.
What to pack for Magadan
- Winter (December–February) — highs −154 to −13 °C9 °F, lows −21−6 to −16 °C2 °F, about 33 mm1.3 in of precipitation a month. Pack heavy insulated clothing, thermal base layers, a warm hat, mittens and insulated boots.
- Spring (March–May) — highs −817 to 4 °C40 °F, lows −154 to 0 °C32 °F, about 46 mm1.8 in of precipitation a month. Pack a winter coat, hat, gloves and warm, non-slip boots and shoes with good grip, as frost is common.
- Summer (June–August) — highs 1050 to 15 °C59 °F, lows 541 to 11 °C51 °F, about 97 mm3.8 in of precipitation a month. Pack long sleeves, a sweater and a medium jacket and an umbrella or light rain jacket.
- Autumn (September–November) — highs −620 to 10 °C50 °F, lows −1113 to 6 °C43 °F, about 81 mm3.2 in of precipitation a month. Pack a winter coat, hat, gloves and warm, non-slip boots and shoes with good grip, as frost is common.
How Magadan compares
Of the 169 places in Russia covered by World Climates, Magadan is the 159th warmest by annual mean temperature and the 35th wettest by annual precipitation. See all of them on the Russia climate page.
Places in other countries with the most similar temperature and rainfall pattern: Longyearbyen (Svalbard and Jan Mayen, ET), Oulu (Finland, Dfc) and Petropavl (Kazakhstan, Dfb).
Nearby places
- Palana 522 km · 0 °C31 °F · 682 mm27 in
- Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky 868 km · 2 °C35 °F · 1,183 mm47 in
- Yakutsk 1,170 km · −8 °C17 °F · 395 mm16 in
- Komsomolsk-on-Amur 1,327 km · 1 °C33 °F · 658 mm26 in
- Anadyr 1,488 km · −6 °C22 °F · 646 mm25 in
- Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk 1,499 km · 4 °C39 °F · 905 mm36 in
Frequently asked questions
What is the warmest month in Magadan?
August is the warmest month in Magadan, with an average high of 15 °C (59 °F) and an average low of 11 °C (51 °F).
What is the coldest month in Magadan?
February is the coldest month, with an average high of -15 °C (4 °F) and an average low of -21 °C (-6 °F).
When does it rain the most in Magadan?
August is the wettest month with about 120 mm (4.7 in) of precipitation; February is the driest with about 27 mm (1.1 in).
About this data
All figures are 25-year averages (January 2001 – December 2025) from the NASA POWER project. Temperature, humidity, wind and precipitation come from the MERRA-2 reanalysis (precipitation is the bias-corrected MERRA-2 product), cloud and solar values from CERES satellite data. They describe a grid cell of roughly 50–70 km, not a single weather station, so they can differ from airport records — most of all on coasts, in mountains and for rainfall. Average highs and lows are the monthly mean temperature plus/minus half of the average daily temperature range. Counts of rainy days are not part of this dataset.