Way to Russia Talk Lounge

nayrb36 · Just Starting Joined: 04 Sep 2006 Posts: 6

Hi,

I'm planning a trip to Saint Petersburg from Feb 9 to Feb 18. Can anyone give me an idea of the type of weather/temperatures to expect and some recommendations on appropriate clothing? I would like to walk around the city and do as much shopping and restaurant and theatre-hopping as I can.

Thanks!
Bryan

Groobs · Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 11:28 am Post subject:

Hi Bryan

Be prepared for it to be ****ing cold!!!!!!

I obviously have no way to predict temperatures 3 months in advance, but I can tell you that I was in SPB in Feb and March this year and at times it was shockingly cold, about -20C and below. To put that in context, I just looked in the freezer in my apartment and it shows -18C. If the wind blows, in temperatures like that, you are dead (or you will be if you try to walk anywhere!).

Why on earth come in February??? It's dark, miserable, and can be life-threateningly freezing! If you plan a walk about holiday, you could easily be tramping through snow, slush, ice, blizzards..... and even if the weather is OK there are precious few hours of daylight. If you must come in winter, aim to be here over new years, its one big party. The rest of winter is torture.....

Clothes? Layers is the key - certainly bring long-johns to wear under trousers, I would also bring trousers other than jeans, they just somehow feel colder than other types of trouser (no idea if that’s true or scientific, but its always been my impression). You MUST have a hat - not a dumb baseball cap, get a hat that is fur lined, and has flaps that you can tie under your chin, to protect your ears. Scarf and gloves of course, good ones. Get a heavy duty coat - do not be fooled into thinking a leather jacket will do. Bring warm, lined, waterproofed boots too.

Best of all - forget February! But if you do come, have fun! Sorry, I do not like to put people off visiting this fabulous city, but seriously, it can be UTTER HELL - alternatively it might be as mild as it is now - who knows, but if I had to bet on it, I'd put my chips on "buggeringly cold". Shocked

Eugenia_Kempinsky · Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 11:33 pm Post subject:

Dear Brian,

I am absolutely agree with GROOBS - February is the worst time in St.Pete. I live here for all my life and I simply hate February. It is very windy and it's the main problem - there are no many things that can protect you from the cold northern winds. So, be prepared!
wind-breaker (like for mountain skiing) or fur coat, very warm water-proof shoes, hat, scarf and gloves.
If you can - come in January or March. January is cold but usually not windy which makes it much easier. March is warmer (still cold and wet, but better..)

Another option is not to walk much, but have a private driver with the car to bring you all around the city.

nayrb36 · Just Starting Joined: 04 Sep 2006 Posts: 6

Thank you both for your very descriptive replies! They were both informative and entertaining to read! I think you've definitely convinced me to go another time, and perhaps even another city. How would Moscow compare to St. Pete? Is the weather milder in Moscow? And I may go in January instead of February.

Thanks again!
Bryan

camarks · Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 6:43 am Post subject:

I'm sure the other posters are correct, but both of my trips to St. Petersburg were in February (2004 and 2006), and I enjoyed them. I wasn't too cold (I was prepared for it), and I found it a great time to see the museums, palaces, and churches, since there were very few tourists there at that time. It is also easier to arrange for a very nice apartment for less money than other times of year. Just another way of looking at things, but I say go for it.

Groobs · Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 1:47 pm Post subject:

Actually camark's post has a lot of sense in it - I stressed in my post that I don't want to put people off coming to SPB, but just, like a good boy scout, be prepared! But, temperature aside, it is always grey and murky that time of year unless you get very lucky and have a few brilliant sunny crystal clear days...... and days are short even if they are otherwise ok. And it MIGHT be unbearably cold.
Having said that, it’s 3 December today, and as I type this I am looking out of my window at Bolshoi Prospect on Petrogradskya and it's just a wet mild day - this isn't Russian winter! What's happening?! It's forecasting +8 to +9C into the middle/end of the week, I haven't seen even a gin-and-tonic sized ice cube in the Neva so far this year, we last had a dusting of snow about 3 weeks ago and it melted in a day or two..... who knows, maybe it will be already spring in February!
Moscow any better? Well, leaving aside my prejudices for SPB over Moscow, I would have thought that if it’s cold in European Russia it will be pretty much similar in Moscow as SPB?

jo jo 7 · Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 1:51 pm Post subject:

groobs,
I will be going to Russia in the fall of 2007, how cold can it get there?....does it get 30 to 40- below in the mid-winter?

Groobs · Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 2:41 pm Post subject:

jo jo, I see you post from the US, so are you talking Fahrenheit, not Celsius? Sorry, but I am a bit of a dinosaur, and I use degrees F for hot temperatures (82F sounds better than 28C!), and C for cold ones below zero!

Anyway, let me also assume you are not planning a trip to the far depths of central or eastern Russia? Well, for European Russia it has been my experience over the last few years that what I call "domestic freezer" temperature spells are rare, but they DO happen - hence my warning to Bryan above to bring the right things to wear just in case. Here we are in the centre of a huge cold landmass, a long way from the moderating influences of the Gulf Stream and stuff like that (suddenly the relevance of school classes on geography and climate seem a little more real!) and it can be brutal, but there is frequently respite from it - in short, in the words of the great Chuck Berry song, You Never Can Tell!

Check this site out – (for some reason I could only find this stuff in Spanish, but the numbers are clear) - this link will let you select historic weather data from any city in Russia. http://www.tutiempo.net/en/Climate/Russia/RU.html
And just to frighten you, look at the data here http://www.tutiempo.net/en/Climate/St_Peterburg/260630.htm for St Pete for February 2006, third column "Tm" is temperature minimums in Celsius..... brrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

surfguy · Lounge Wizard Joined: 13 Apr 2006 Posts: 6996

Well I should be there pretty soon and will find out. Yes everyone is saying that the weather is unusual there right now. Kentucky can get cold too and also right now the US is having some cold spells...look at Chicago the other day...the place shut down it was so cold

camarks · Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2006 6:21 am Post subject:

One more good thing about February is that you don't have to worry about getting stuck on the wrong side of a drawbridge:>

Kesha · Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2006 10:06 am Post subject:

surfguy · Lounge Wizard Joined: 13 Apr 2006 Posts: 6996

Dam cold! But you will be ok in the Fall as said it gets very cold in January and February. I should think that starting out in the fall you should be able to acclimate some what easier then say if you were to go right in the middle of winter.

jo jo 7 · Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2006 2:29 pm Post subject:

jo jo 7 · Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2006 2:31 pm Post subject:

5_Zvehzda · Moderator Joined: 08 Oct 2004 Posts: 347 Location: Arizona

The temperature during the Fall in Kentucky is fairly comparible to St. Pete. It shouldn't be very noticeable. Like everyone mentioned, it's mere child's-play in comparison to those other months in winter-time. I was in St. Pete in October '05 and the days were only crisp, with a few sunny days even.