Climate conditions in the area of Winter Olympics "Sochi-2014"
Winter season in the area of XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games 2014 characterized as moist and warm in the coastal cluster, moist and moderately warm in the mountain cluster.
1. Coastal cluster
| Characteristics | February | March |
| Average monthly temperature (°С) | 5,6 | 7.8 |
| Absolute minimum temperature (°С) | -11,4 | -9,9 |
| Absolute maximum temperature (°С) | 23,8 | 29,5 |
| Average monthly relative humidity (%) | 76 | 77 |
| Average monthly rainfall (mm) | 126 | 117 |
| Average monthly number of days with precipitation | 10 | 10 |
| Average wind speed (m/s) | 3,3 | 3,0 |
| Maximum wind speed (m/s) | 23 | 20 |
2. Mountain cluster
2.1 According to the Krasnaya Polyana weather station (566 m above sea level)
| Characteristics | February | March |
| Average monthly temperature (°С) | +1,6 | +4.7 |
| Absolute minimum temperature (°С) | -16,3 | -13,1 |
| Absolute maximum temperature (°С) | +22,4 | +27,8 |
| Average monthly relative humidity (%) | 80 | 76 |
| Average monthly rainfall (mm) | 171 | 165 |
| Average monthly number of days with precipitation | 12 | 13 |
| Average wind speed (m/s) | 1,1 | 1,3 |
| Maximum wind speed (m/s) | 22 | 17 |
2.1 According to the Aibga weather station (2 225 m above sea level)
| Characteristics | February | March |
| Average monthly temperature (°С) | -8,2 | -7,9 |
| Absolute minimum temperature (°С) | -20 | -20 |
| Absolute maximum temperature (°С) | +7 | +10 |
| Average monthly relative humidity (%) | 74 | 84 |
| Average monthly rainfall (mm) | 134 | 149 |
| Average monthly number of days with precipitation | 20 | 23 |
| Average wind speed (m/s) | 5,2 | 5,2 |
| Maximum wind speed (m/s) | 40 | 50 |
The mountain cluster is divided into zones of unstable, variable and stable snow cоver:
- Zone of the unstable snow cover is located inthe foothills and bottom parts of the mountain area to the height of 1 200 m. This zone is characterized by short duration of snow occurrence (50-70 days) and the presence of winters without snow cover in some years.
- Zone of the variable snow cover is located at the heights from 1200 to 3000 m. The area of variable snow cover at the altitude above 2 000 m is characterized by the absence of snow-free winters and duration of the snow occurrence from 100 to 260 days a year.
- In the area of stable snow cover, the snow accumulated during the cold season does not disappear completely during the warm period. The duration of its occurrence is 365 days a year. This area includes: deep canyon corridors of Aibga massif, Achishkho Mountain.
Destruction of the snow cover on the northern slopes happens 30-35 days later than on the south due to large reserves of snow (windward side) and less solar radiation. The depth of snow varies over a wide range: increasing from the west to the east and from the south to the north and varying widely from year to year. The greatest snow depth is observed on the northern slopes steeply descending towards the wet marine south and south-west winds. Maximum snow cover is observed in the mountain zone at the altitude of 2 000 m in January-February, and at the altitudes of over 2 000 m - in March-April. Below are the statistical data from the meteorological stations in the mountain cluster of the Games area.
The average number of days with the snow cover, dates of the stable snow cover creation and destruction according to long-term weather observations
| Meteorological station | The number of days with snow cover | Date of the snow cover appearance | Date of the stable snow cover appearance | Date of the snow cover destruction | ||||||
| average | earliest | latest | average | earliest | latest | average | earliest | latest | ||
| Krasnaya Polyana (565 m) | 81 | 01.12 | 29.09 | 01.01 | 31.12 | 29.09 | 11.01 | 04.04 | 12.03 | 25.04 |
| Aibga (2 225 m) | 213 | 17.11 | 17.10 | 27.11 | 17.11 | 07.11 | 27.11 | 25.02 | 14.05 | 06.06 |
There are few meteorological stations with a long series of observations in the mountain cluster, so below are the estimated data on the average monthly temperature altitude distribution during the cold period of the year.
| Altitude above sea level (m) | November | December | January | February | March |
| 500 | +6,6 | +2,3 | +0,2 | +1,1 | +4,6 |
| 1000 | +4,6 | +0,5 | -1,8 | -1,3 | +2,0 |
| 1500 | +2,6 | -1,3 | -3,8 | -3,7 | -0,6 |
| 2000 | +0,6 | -3,1 | -5,8 | -6,1 | -3,2 |
| 2500 | -1,4 | -4,9 | -7,8 | -8,5 | -5,8 |