Climate

Austria lies in the temperate climate zone. The climate of Austria in the west is influenced by oceanic air masses, in the east by continental air and in the south by the Mediterranean air. The relief and the high above mean sea level result in the diversity of climate. In the high parts of mountains, above 3,000 meters the snow lies on the mountains all the year long. Average temperatures in January amount to (–1)°C in the Danube valley, and reach even (-10)°C in higher parts of the Alps, but in January they are below 10°C in the Alps and up to 20°C in the Vienna Valley. Rainfalls during a year reach about 500–900 millimeters in intermountain lowlands and valleys and 2,000 millimeters and more in higher parts of the Alps. In alpine valleys, the thermal inversion occurs very often and a warm wind called foehn falls down the slopes.