Continental climate

Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm to hot summers and cold winters).

They tend to occur in central and eastern parts of the three northern-tier continents (North America, Europe, and Asia), typically in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 or 60 degrees north), often within large landmasses, where prevailing winds blow overland bringing some precipitation, and temperatures are not moderated by oceans.

Continental climates occur mostly in the Northern Hemisphere due to the large landmasses found there.

Only a few areas—in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest of North America and in Iran, northern Iraq, adjacent Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia—show a winter maximum in precipitation.

Places with continental climates are as a rule either far from any moderating effect of oceans or are so situated that prevailing winds tend to head offshore.