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Mediterranean Climate
11/21/2002
Listen in RealAudio 
Hi, I'm Bryan Yeaton for The Weather Notebook.
What do Nice on the French Riviera and Concord, New Hampshire have in common? Surprise --
they're situated at almost the exact same latitude! So why is Nice blessed with mild winters
and lovely dry summers while Concord's average monthly temperature hovers at or below freezing
for four months of the year, with hardly any variation in precipitation from season to season?
The reason Nice is so nice has to do with a meteorological regime called the Mediterranean
Climate.
In the summer months, a belt of high pressure migrates northward and parks itself over the
ocean waters west of the Mediterranean. This tenacious high triggers a prolonged spell of
perfect vacation weather -- clear skies, warm to hot days, breezy afternoons, scant rainfall.
Come autumn, when the weakening ridge slips back south, the atmospheric door opens suddenly to
frontal rainstorms born on brisk westerly winds. This pattern explains why Palma, on the
island of Mallorca east of Spain, averages just a tenth of an inch of rain in July, but 3.2
inches in October. But to compensate for the dampness, Mediterranean winters are relatively
balmy thanks to the moderating influence of the sea. Palma's January average temperature is a
delightful 52 degrees F. Concord's is 19.9.
A Mediterranean climate, though most pronounced in around the sea it's named for, also
influences the weather of coastal California, Chile, South Africa, and southern Australia. As
for Concord, its climate is subject to the meteorological extremes of the vast continental
mass to its north and west, That's why the region glories in those crisp autumn days when the
leaves blaze with fiery colors. Something you won't find in St. Tropez!
David Laskin brought us today's story. Thanks to Assistant Producer Doug Sanborn. Thanks also
to The National Science Foundation and Subaru of America for their generous support.
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