St Petersburg's January 2026 had no thaws
January 2026 in St Petersburg saw no thaws, the first time in a decade and a half. The average temperature was –8.7°C (–15.7°F), making it the fifth coldest January in the 21st century.
Apr 19, 2026 0
The meteorologist noted the lack of thaws and below-average precipitation in January 2026.
Source:
St Petersburg«s chief meteorologist Alexander Kolesov summarized the first month of 2026 in his Telegram channel.
The past January did not set any temperature records, but it was the first since 2010 with no thaws at all in the city. The last time this occurred was in 2004.
With an average temperature of –8.7°C (–15.7°F), the month ranked fifth among the coldest Januaries of this century. It was slightly warmer than January 2024 but colder than in 2003 and 2016. In the overall historical series, this January is in 52nd place — for comparison, during the first blockade winter of 1942 (the Siege of Leningrad), the average temperature dropped to –18.6°C (–1.5°F).
Precipitation was significantly below normal — only 59%. Such a significant deficit in January was last recorded in 2010 (57%). Over the previous 15 years, no shortage of precipitation had been noted in the first month of the year.
«But an analogue of 1 mm of precipitation in the third decade of this January had to be searched for. In 1992, at the end of January, 1.2 mm fell, and in 1988 there was no precipitation at all,» the meteorologist commented.
There were 9 sunny days in January, which is 98.4% of the long-term average. However, in 1982 the sun shone for 51 hours, or 268% of the January norm.
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