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

NOTE: The information regarding Serbia and Montenegro on this page is re-published from The Library of Congress Country Studies and the CIA World Factbook. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Serbia and Montenegro Climate information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Serbia and Montenegro Climate should be addressed to the Library of Congress and the CIA.