Weather & Clothing
If you come to Kazan when spring comes (April — May), nature awakens from its long winter sleep. The sky is blue and cloudless, the sun shines brightly. The trees are in full blossom and the ground is covered with emerald-green grass and multicolored flowers. It is usually warm or even hot during the day (+15+22 C), but temperature can sink between 0 to +5 C at nights. This season is good for sight seeing.
The weather is usually fine in summer (June — August), but it can be very hot, especially in July (+30 +35 C). Sometimes there are rains, storms or hails. Summer is suitable for all activities: fishing, hiking, cycling, swimming in lakes and rivers etc.
September is the most picturesque period of the year , unfortunately, it is so short. It’s still warm during a day (+15 +25 C), however it gets colder and colder.
It often rains in October and November. Autumn is awful season in Kazan. There are puddles and mire on the streets, cars sprinkling dirty waters on pedestrians and it’s really cold (between 0 to +5 C). I would strongly recommend you to NOT to come to see Kazan in this unpleasant season.
The early winter starts with the first snow in December and it lasts till the middle of February. It’s too cold (-15 to -5 C) but very beautiful. Everything is covered with amazing white snow. It’s so good for skiing, skating, mountain skiing. It is a pretty good chance for you to celebrate Russian New Year with drinking vodka, driving in a sledge and visiting Russian Banya (Sauna).
The next season is very unpleasant for visiting Kazan. The latest winter is cold (-30 to -15 C) and windy. White snow turns into dark grey. There are mire form dirty snow, sand and salt on the streets. I suppose, visiting the Caribbeans is the best thing you have to do!
CLOTHING
Make sure that you take warm winter clothes if you are going to stay between November and April. The swimming season starts in May or early June. In September, you will enjoy a marvelous «golden autumn».
The climate is moderate-continental, with occasional droughts. Average temperature is -13C during the coldest month of the year (January) and +19C during the warmest month (July). Average annual precipitation is 460-520 mm. Vegetation period lasts about 170 days.