Everything about Continental Climate totally explained
Continental climate is a
climate that's characterized by
winter temperatures cold enough to support a fixed period of
snow cover each
year, and relatively moderate
precipitation occurring mostly in
summer, although east coast areas (chiefly in
North America) may show an even distribution of precipitation.
Regions containing a continental climate exist in portions of the
Northern Hemisphere continents (especially North America and
Asia), and also at higher elevations in other parts of the
world.
Only a few areas in
Iran, adjacent
Turkey,
Afghanistan,
Pakistan, and
Central Asia show a winter maximum in precipitation, that typically melts in early spring to give short-lived
floods.
These regions generally have either
forest or tall-grass
prairie as natural ground cover and include some of the most productive
farmlands in the world. All such climates have at least three months of temperatures in excess of and winters with at least one month below -3C (26.6F).
| Average temperature ranges |
| season |
day-time temperature range |
night-time temperature range |
| Maximum |
Minimum |
Maximum |
Minimum |
| °F |
°C |
°F |
°C |
°F |
°C |
°F |
°C |
| summer | |
|
|
|
| winter | |
|
|
|
Spring-like temperatures occur in this zone between early March in the southern parts of this zone to mid April in the far northern fringes of this climate zone. Annual precipitation in this zone is usually between to, most of it in the form of snow during winter.
Most such areas fit
Köppen classifications of
Dfa,
Dwa (cold winters, hot summers; "w" indicating very dry winters characteristic especially of China) or
Dfb or
Dwb (cold winters, warm summers, same distinction for winter dryness).
Dry summer continental climates with significant winter precipitation maxima (
Dsa and
Dsb) only exist in highland areas above
Mediterranean climates.
Continental climates exist where cold air masses infiltrate during the winter and warm air masses form in summer under conditions of high sun and long days. Places with continental climates are as a rule either far from any moderating effects of oceans (example:
Omaha, Nebraska, USA) or are so situated that prevailing winds tend to head offshore. Such regions get quite warm in the summer, achieving temperatures characteristic of tropical climates but are much colder than any other climates of similar latitude in the winter.
These climates grade off toward
subtropical climates equator-ward where winters are less severe and
semiarid climates where precipitation becomes inadequate for tall-grass prairies. In Europe these climates may grade off into
oceanic climates in which the influence of moderating air masses is more marked toward the west. The
subarctic climate (Köppen:
Dfc), with very cold, long and dry winters, but with at least one month above, might be considered a sub-type of the continental climate.
The
Midwestern United States, northeastern parts of the US, southern
Canada, parts of
China,
South Korea, and most of
Russia are examples of areas of the world with continental climates, which don't exist at all in the Southern Hemisphere due to the lack of broad land masses at middle latitudes, the southernmost parts of Africa and Australia being under marine influences and southern South America being too narrow in breadth to allow air masses as cold as those in corresponding latitudes in North America and Asia to form in the winter.
Antarctica, of course, lies completely outside the middle latitudes.
Further Information
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