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Yugoslavia Climate
Yugoslavia lies in the southern half of the northern
temperate zone, but the climate of its mountains, interior plain,
and seacoast varies dramatically according to elevation,
prevailing winds, and distance from the sea. The mountain regions
fall under the influence of continental air currents and
Mediterranean air masses. Snow blankets most of the highlands
during the winter, but temperature and precipitation differ with
elevation. For example, Montenegro's capital, Titograd (elevation
210 meters) enjoys an average monthly temperature ten degrees
warmer than that of Cetinje (3530 meters), which is only 40
kilometers to the west; and Crkvica (5776 meters), a town 32
kilometers north of Cetinje, averages 4623 millimeters of annual
rainfall, three times more than Titograd. The interior plain has
a continental climate featuring hot, humid summers. A dry wind,
the Kosava, brings freezing air from central Eurasia in the
winter, but snowfall is usually light. The Dalmatian coast enjoys
mild Mediterranean weather. Summers on the coast are hot and dry
with turquoise blue skies; a fair sea breeze, the Maestral, cools
the land during mornings and afternoons. Winters are cool and
rainy. A chilling winter wind known as the Bura sweeps down
through gaps in the coastal mountains; and a southwest wind, the
Jugo, brings winter rains. Warm winds blow up the Vardar Valley
from the Aegean into Macedonia, making subtropical agriculture
possible in some parts of that republic.
Data as of December 1990
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