The climate of Serbia is between a continental climate in the north, with cold dry winters, and warm, humid summers with well distributed rainfall patterns, and a more

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

in the south with hot, dry summers and autumns and average relatively cool and more rainy winters with heavy mountain snowfall. Differences in elevation, proximity to the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

and

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...

and large river basins, as well as exposure to the winds account for climate differences. Most of Northern Serbia possesses a typical continental climate, with air masses from northern and western Europe which shape its climatic profile. South and South-east of Serbia is subject to strong Mediterranean influences (hotter summers and milder winters). However, the

Dinaric Alps The Dinaric Alps (), also Dinarides, are a mountain range in Southern and Southcentral Europe, separating the continental Balkan Peninsula from the Adriatic Sea. They stretch from Italy in the northwest through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herz ...

and other mountain ranges contribute to the cooling down a large part of the warm air masses. Winters are quite harsh in Raška (region) because of the mountains which encircle the plateau. One of the climatic features of Serbia is Košava, a cold and very

squall A squall is a sudden, sharp increase in wind speed lasting minutes, as opposed to a wind gust, which lasts for only seconds. They are usually associated with active weather, such as rain showers, thunderstorms, or heavy snow. Squalls refer to the ...

y southeastern wind which starts in the Carpathian Mountains and follows the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

northwest through the Iron Gate where it gains a jet effect and continues to Belgrade and can spread as far south as

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...

. Mediterranean micro-regions exist throughout southern Serbia, in Zlatibor and the Pčinja District around valley and river Pčinja. The average annual air temperature for the period 1981–2017 for the area with an altitude of up to is . The areas with an altitude of have an average annual temperature of around , and over of altitude around .

Extreme weather and records

Serbia is one of few European countries with a ''very high risk'' exposure to natural hazards (earthquakes, storms, floods and droughts). It is estimated that potential floods, particularly in areas of Central Serbia, threaten over 500 larger settlements and an area of 16,000 square kilometres. The most disastrous were the floods in May 2014, when 57 people died and a damage of over 1.5 billion euros was inflicted. The lowest recorded temperature in Serbia was (January 26, 2006,

Karajukića Bunari Karajukića Bunari ( sr-cyr, Карајукића Бунари) is a village located in the municipality of Sjenica Sjenica ( sr-cyr, Сјеница, ) is a town and municipality located in the Zlatibor District of southwestern Serbia. The popul ...

Pešter The Pešter Plateau ( sr, Пештерска висораван, Pešterska visoravan; sq, Rrafshnalta e Peshterit), or simply Pešter ( sr-Cyrl, Пештер, ; sq, Peshter), is a karst plateau in southwestern Serbia, in the Raška (or Sandžak ...

), and the highest was (July 24, 2007,

Smederevska Palanka Smederevska Palanka ( sr-cyr, Смедеревска Паланка, ) is a town and municipality located in the Podunavlje District and the geographical region of Šumadija. According to the 2011 census, the town has 23,601, while the municipality ...

Examples

References

{{Commons category, Weather and climate of Serbia

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...