Seasons and Climate
The Primorye Region (Primorskiy Krai) is located in the Vladivostok Time Zone or VLAT. It is 10 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC+10) and seven hours ahead of Moscow Time (MSK+7).
Primorye is gifted with distinct and pronounced seasons. Due to the monsoon climate, summer is hot and humid; and winter is usually dry and cold. However, these characteristics are rather relative. The summer season in different parts of Primorye varies due to the large span of the region, and also because of the Sikhote-Alin mountain range that divides its territory into unequal western and eastern parts.
The strong influence of the ocean contributes to the wayward nature of each season: spring in southern and eastern Primorye is protracted, often windy and cloudy. Summer and fall are usually delayed, and winter is very cold and harsh for such low latitudes because of the winter monsoon that brings cold continental air.
WINTER
Vladivostok: -15…-5 °C, windy; Primorye: -30…-10 °С
The real winter arrives by mid-December. Steady negative temperatures are established and bays begin to freeze, signaling to the residents the start of their favorite activity — winter fishing.
If you are going on a trip to Vladivostok in the winter, be sure to bring a warm jacket, hat and gloves. Winter in southern Primorye is very windy and chilly. Snow in the capital of Primorye is practically absent. Yet once in a while during the winter, snowfalls will occur even in the spring. Snow in March is not uncommon, but it melts down quickly.
SPRING
Vladivostok: -5…+15 °C, windy; Primorye: -10…+20 °С
Spring comes to Primorye in late February to early March. However, the spring weather is unpredictable: sunny warm days give way to a cold snap — snow with rain and biting wind. Ice on the taiga rivers melts only in the beginning of May. At the same time, within a week, trees get their foliage and “green noise” reigns over the taiga.
At this time, the weather on the coast becomes strikingly different from the weather in the central part of the region: it is often cold and foggy with drizzles, as if the ocean is making up for a relatively mild winter. Meanwhile, only 30-50 kilometers away, the real summer sets in by mid-May.
SUMMER
Vladivostok: +15…+25 °C, possible typhoons; Primorye: +20…+32 °С
For the central parts of the region, summer begins in mid-May. In Vladivostok, however, the off-season is stretched out until the beginning of May, and even until mid-July at times: the temperatures are comfortable, but it is foggy with drizzling rains, and the sea is still cold. Summer truly begins in August.
August in Primorye is almost a divine month, with the bright sun and warm, gentle sea. Numerous beaches on the mainland coast and islands are filled with vacationers, who come here from all over the Far East. In addition, the majority of festivals and cultural events held in Vladivostok take place in August.
FALL
Vladivostok: +25…+15 °C; Primorye: +25…+5 °С
The beginning of fall in southern Primorye brings the Indian summer. The summer weather lasts until the second half of September. Then, as the month of October arrives in Primorye, leaves start to turn yellow and red. The taiga becomes fascinatingly beautiful during the first two weeks of October. It is difficult to describe in words the whole palette of colors and splendor of Primorye in the fall.
Undeniably, the real jewel among the seasons in Primorye is fall.