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Austria Climate
The Alps serve as a watershed for Europe's three major kinds
of weather systems that influence Austrian weather. The Atlantic
maritime climate from the northwest is characterized by lowpressure fronts, mild air from the Gulf Stream, and
precipitation. It has the greatest influence on the northern
slopes of the Alps, the Northern Alpine Foreland, and the Danube
Valley. The continental climate is characterized by low-pressure
fronts with precipitation in summer and high-pressure systems
with cold and dry air in winter. It affects mainly eastern
Austria. Mediterranean high-pressure systems from the south are
characterized by few clouds and warm air, and they influence the
weather of the southern slopes of the Alps and that of the
Southeastern Alpine Foreland, making them the most temperate part
of Austria.
One peculiarity of the Mediterranean weather systems is the
föhn, a warm air mass that originates in the African Sahara and
moves north rapidly, periodically raising temperatures up to
10°C
in a short period of time. Many people respond to this rapid
weather change with headaches, irritability, and circulatory
problems. During the winter, the rapid warming that accompanies a
föhn can thaw the snow cover in the Alps to such an extent that
avalanches occur.
Given the importance of Alpine skiing for the Austrian
tourist industry, December is the month during which the weather
is watched with the greatest anticipation. As a rule, Atlantic
maritime weather systems bring snow, and continental weather
systems help keep it. However, a predominance of cold, dry
continental systems or warm Mediterranean ones inevitably
postpone the beginning of the ski season. In the summer,
Mediterranean high-pressure systems bring warm, sunny weather.
Data as of December 1993
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