Siberia sprawls over the majority of northern and western Russia and consumes over half of the country's land mass. Siberia's location, bordered on the east, west and south by mountain ranges, helps protect the area from cyclones and high temperatures. While the area is known for its winter weather, there is much more to Siberia's climate than extreme cold.


Siberia is known for its long harsh winters. Temperatures average well below freezing throughout the winter and well into April. Average January temperatures in Yakutsk, located in eastern-central Siberia, hover near -38 degrees Fahrenheit while the average in Verhojansk in north-central Siberia is an even colder -47 degrees. A layer of snow remains on the ground for at least six months and the cold winter temperatures lead to a permanently frozen subsoil level on which the snow rests.


Summers in Siberia often see significantly warmer temperatures than the cold winters, leading to the melting of the winter snows. May sees temperatures rise above freezing, averaging 44 degrees in Yakutsk and 37 degrees in Verhojansk. During July, the warmest month for most of Siberia, visitors are typically able to shed most of their cold weather gear and enjoy average temperatures of 64 degrees in Yakutsk and 59 degrees in Verhojansk, with little risk of the temperature dropping below freezing.


Little precipitation falls over much of Siberia, with average annual precipitation levels falling at just over 8 inches for Yakutsk and at 6 inches for Verhojansk. The majority of the precipitation is seen during the months of June through August, with at least an inch of rain, or periodic snow, falling each month. February and March bring Yakutsk's lowest precipitation levels of .2 inch while January through April see the same low average in Verhojansk. However, the snow that does fall during the winter months remains on the ground for up to 250 days.


Siberia's spring and autumn seasons are typically brief, with a sudden transition to cold winter weather to warm summer temperatures being quite common, however, the fall season does produce colorful foliage, notes the Lonely Planet website. Due Siberia's northern location, hours of sunlight also vary dramatically from the summer to the winter, with June bringing over 19 hours of sunlight to Yakutsk, while most of December sees just over five hours of light.

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