Moscow has a humid continental climate with warm (sometimes hot) and somewhat humid summers, and long, cold winters. Typical high temperatures in the warm months of June, July and August are around a comfortable +23 �C (73 �F), but during heat waves (which can occur between May and September), daytime high temperatures often top +30 �C (86 �F)�sometimes for a week or a two at a time. In the winter, night-time temperatures normally drop to approximately ?10 �C (14 �F), though there can be periods of warmth with temperatures rising above 0 �C (32 �F). The highest temperature ever recorded was +38.2 �C (100.76 �F) at the VVC weather station and +39.0 �C (102.20 �F) in the center of Moscow and Domodedovo airport on July 29, 2010. This happened during the unusual 2010 Northern Hemisphere summer heat wave. On average July temperature from 1981�2010 was +19.2 �C (66.56 �F). The lowest ever recorded temperature was ?42.2 �C (?44.0 �F) in January 1940. Snow (present for three to five months a year) typically begins to fall at the end of November and melts by mid-March.
Monthly rainfall totals don't vary throughout the year, although the precipitation levels tend to be higher during the summer than during the winter. Due to the significant variation in temperature between the winter and summer months, as well as the limited fluctuation in precipitation levels during the summer, Moscow is considered to be located within a continental climate zone.
The average temperature in Moscow throughout the year is +5.8 �C (42.44 �F) (1981�2010), but during 2007�2008 it has averaged above +7 �C (45 �F). In contrast, during the first half of the 20th century, Moscow experienced light frost during the late summer months.
On average Moscow has 1731 hours of sunshine per year, varying between a low of 8% in December to 52% in May�August. In 2004�2010, the average was between 1800 and 2000 hours with tends to more sunshine in summer months
