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. Most of northeastern China, eastern and southeastern Europe, much of Russia south of the Arctic Circle, central and southeastern Canada, and the central and northeastern United States have this type of climate. Continentality is a measure of the degree to which a region experiences this type of climate.

In continental climates, precipitation tends to be moderate in amount, concentrated mostly in the warmer months. 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. A portion of the annual precipitation falls as snowfall, and snow often remains on the ground for more than a month. Summers in continental climates can feature thunderstorms and frequent hot temperatures; however, summer weather is somewhat more stable than winter weather. Continental climates are considered as temperate climate varieties due to their location in the temperate zones, but are classified separately from other temperate climates in the Köppen climate classification system where they are identified by their first letter, a capital D. In the Trewartha climate classification, they are identified as Dc.

Köppen climate classification
Continental climate has at least one month averaging below 0 °C and at least one month averaging above 10 °C.
 * Dfa = Hot-summer humid continental climate; coldest month averaging below 0 °C (or -3 °C), at least one month's average temperature above 22 °C, and at least four months averaging above 10 °C. No significant precipitation difference between seasons (neither the abovementioned set of conditions fulfilled).
 * Dfb = Warm-summer humid continental climate; coldest month averaging below 0 °C (or -3 °C), all months with average temperatures below 22 °C, and at least four months averaging above 10 °C. No significant precipitation difference between seasons (neither the abovementioned set of conditions fulfilled).
 * Dfc = Subarctic climate; coldest month averaging below 0 °C (or -3 °C) and one–three months averaging above 10 °C. No significant precipitation difference between seasons (neither the abovementioned set of conditions fulfilled).
 * Dfd = Extremely cold subarctic climate; coldest month averaging below −38 °C and one–three months averaging above 10 °C. No significant precipitation difference between seasons (neither the abovementioned set of conditions fulfilled).
 * Dwa = Monsoon-influenced hot-summer humid continental climate; coldest month averaging below 0 °C (or -3 °C), at least one month's average temperature above 22 °C, and at least four months averaging above 10 °C. At least ten times as much rain in the wettest month of summer as in the driest month of winter.
 * Dwb = Monsoon-influenced warm-summer humid continental climate; coldest month averaging below 0 °C (or -3 °C), all months with average temperatures below 22 °C, and at least four months averaging above 10 °C. At least ten times as much rain in the wettest month of summer as in the driest month of winter.
 * Dwc = Monsoon-influenced subarctic climate; coldest month averaging below 0 °C (or -3 °C) and one–three months averaging above 10 °C. At least ten times as much rain in the wettest month of summer as in the driest month of winter.
 * Dwd = Monsoon-influenced extremely cold subarctic climate; coldest month averaging below −38 °C and one–three months averaging above 10 °C. At least ten times as much rain in the wettest month of summer as in the driest month of winter.
 * Dsa = Mediterranean-influenced hot-summer humid continental climate; coldest month averaging below 0 °C (or -3 °C), average temperature of the warmest month above 22 °C and at least four months averaging above 10 °C. At least three times as much precipitation in the wettest month of winter as in the driest month of summer, and the driest month of summer receives less than 30 mm.
 * Dsb = Mediterranean-influenced warm-summer humid continental climate; coldest month averaging below 0 °C (or -3 °C), average temperature of the warmest month below 22 °C and at least four months averaging above 10 °C. At least three times as much precipitation in the wettest month of winter as in the driest month of summer, and the driest month of summer receives less than 30 mm.
 * Dsc = Mediterranean-influenced subarctic climate; coldest month averaging below 0 °C (or -3 °C) and one–three months averaging above 10 °C. At least three times as much precipitation in the wettest month of winter as in the driest month of summer, and the driest month of summer receives less than 30 mm.
 * Dsd = Mediterranean-influenced extremely cold subarctic climate; coldest month averaging below −38 °C and one–three months averaging above 10 °C. At least three times as much precipitation in the wettest month of winter as in the driest month of summer, and the driest month of summer receives less than 30 mm.

Seasons
Annual precipitation in this zone is usually between 600 mm and 1200 mm, The timing of intermediate spring-like or autumn-like temperatures in this zone vary depending on latitude and/or elevation. For example, spring may arrive as soon as March (in Northern hemisphere, September in Southern hemisphere) in the southern (in Northern hemisphere, northern in Southern hemisphere), parts of this zone or as late as May (November) in the north (south). Summers are warm or hot while winters are below freezing and sustain lots of frost.

Climatology
Continental climates exist where cold air masses infiltrate during the winter from shorter days and warm air masses form in summer under conditions of high sun and longer days. 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. Such regions get quite warm in the summer, achieving temperatures characteristic of tropical climates but are colder than any other climates of similar latitude in the winter.

Neighboring climates
In the Köppen climate system, these climates grade off toward temperate climates equator-ward where winters are less severe and semi-arid climates or arid climates where precipitation becomes inadequate for tall-grass prairies and shrublands. In Europe these climates may grade off into oceanic climates (Cfb) or subpolar oceanic climates (Cfc) in which the influence of cool oceanic air masses is more marked toward the west. In western and eastern Asia, and the central United States these climates grade off toward humid subtropical climates (Cfa/Cwa), subtropical highland climates (Cwb), or Mediterranean climates (Csa/Csb) to the south.

List of locations with a continental climate
The climate is continental if the 0°C coldest-month isotherm is used, but it is temperate if the -3°C isotherm is used.

Morocco

 * Imilchil (bordering Cfb)

Asia

 * Afghanistan: Fayzabad (Dsa bordering Csa), Ghazni (Dsa bordering BSk), Puli Alam (Dsa)
 * Armenia: Gyumri, Jermuk (Dsb bordering Dfb), Kapan, Sisian, Vanadzor, Yerevan (bordering BSk)
 * Azerbaijan: Qabala (bordering Cfa), Shamakhi (bordering Cfa)
 * China: Beijing, Biru County, Changchun, Dalian, Harbin, Jinan (bordering Cwa), Lhasa (bordering BSk/Cwb), Qiqihar, Shenyang, Shigatse, Suihua, Ulanhot, Ürümqi (bordering BSk), Yantai, Yichun
 * Georgia: Akhaltsikhe
 * India: Dras (Dsb bordering Dfb), Kargil
 * Iran: Abali (Dsb), Arak (Dsa bordering BSk), Ardabil (bordering BSk), Hamadan (Dsa bordering BSk), Saqqez (Dsa), Sardasht (Dsa), Tabriz (Dsa bordering BSk), Urmia (bordering BSk)
 * Japan: Aomori, Asahikawa, Hakodate, Kushiro, Mount Aso, Nagano (bordering Cfa), Nichinan (bordering Cfa), Sapporo, Tendō
 * Kazakhstan: Aktobe, Almaty, Astana, Karaganda, Oskemen, Pavlodar, Semey, Shymkent (Dsa), Taraz (Dsa bordering BSk)
 * Kyrgyzstan: Bishkek (Dsa), Jalal-Abad (Dsa), Osh (Dsa)
 * Mongolia: Baruunturuun (bordering Dwc), Darkhan, Kharkhorin
 * North Korea: Haeju, Kaesong, Nampo, Pyongyang, Rason
 * Russia: Barnaul, Blagoveshchensk, Irkutsk, Khabarovsk, Kurilsk (bordering Dfc), Novosibirsk, Omsk, Orenburg, Tomsk, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk
 * South Korea: Cheongju, Chuncheon, Chupungnyeong, Daejeon, Incheon, Seoul, Wonju, Yeongcheon (bordering Cfa)
 * South Ossetia: Tskhinvali (disputed with Georgia)
 * Tajikistan: Isfara (Dsa), Konibodom (Dsa), Panjakent (Dsa), Roghun (Dsb)
 * Turkey: Ardahan, Erzurum, Hakkâri (Dsa), Kars, Muş (Dsa)
 * Uzbekistan: Chirchiq (Dsa bordering Csa)

Europe



 * Andorra: Canillo, El Pas de la Casa (bordering Dfc)
 * Austria: Baden bei Wien (bordering Cfb), Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Neukirchen bei Lambach
 * Belarus: Brest, Gomel, Minsk, Pinsk
 * Bosnia and Herzegovina: Goražde, Istočno Sarajevo, Livno
 * Bulgaria: Pazardzhik (bordering Cfa), Pernik, Pleven, Ruse (bordering Cfa), Smolyan (Dsb), Sofia (bordering Cfb), Veliko Tarnovo, Vratsa
 * Croatia: Gospić
 * Czech Republic: Brno, České Budějovice, Liberec, Olomouc, Ostrava, Plzeň
 * Estonia: Hiiumaa, Pärnu, Saaremaa, Tallinn, Tartu
 * Finland: Åland, Hämeenlinna, Helsinki, Kouvola, Lappeenranta, Pori, Turku
 * France: Chamonix, Mouthe, Saint-Véran (bordering Dfc)
 * Germany: Ansbach, Augsburg (bordering Cfb), Bayreuth, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Görlitz (bordering Cfb), Ingolstadt, Kempten, Weiden in der Oberpfalz
 * Greece: Aetomilitsa, Kato Vermio, Samarina
 * Hungary: Debrecen, Kecskemét (bordering Cfa/Cfb), Miskolc, Szeged (bordering Cfa/Cfb), Szombathely (bordering Cfb)
 * Italy: Bruneck, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Rhêmes-Notre-Dame, Rocca di Mezzo (Dsb bordering Cfb/Csb), Toblach
 * Kazakhstan: Oral (bordering BSk)
 * Kosovo: Pristina (disputed with Serbia)
 * Latvia: Daugavpils, Jelgava, Liepāja, Riga
 * Liechtenstein: Schaan (bordering Cfb)
 * Lithuania: Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai, Vilnius
 * Moldova: Bălți, Chișinău, Comrat
 * Montenegro: Žabljak
 * North Macedonia: Berovo
 * Norway: Bodø (bordering Dfc), Drammen, Hamar, Lillehammer (bordering Dfc), Oslo, Steinkjer, Trondheim
 * Poland: Białystok, Bydgoszcz, Gdańsk, Katowice, Kraków, Łódź, Lublin, Poznań (bordering Cfb), Suwałki, Toruń, Warsaw
 * Romania: Brașov, Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iași, Ploiești, Sibiu, Timișoara
 * Russia: Chelyabinsk, Grozny, Kaliningrad, Kazan, Moscow, Nalchik, Nizhny Novgorod, Perm, Rostov-on-Don, Saint Petersburg, Samara, Smolensk, Taganrog, Ufa, Vladikavkaz, Voronezh
 * Serbia: Nova Varoš, Subotica
 * Slovakia: Banská Bystrica, Košice, Pezinok, Prešov, Žilina
 * Slovenia: Lendava (bordering Cfb), Murska Sobota
 * Spain: Puerto de Navacerrada (Dsb bordering Csb)
 * Sweden: Härnösand, Jönköping, Kalmar (bordering Cfb), Norrköping, Stockholm, Sundsvall, Uppsala, Visby (bordering Cfb)
 * Switzerland: Gstaad, La Brévine (bordering Dfc), La Chaux-de-Fonds, Poschiavo
 * Transnistria: Tiraspol (disputed with Moldova)
 * Ukraine: Dnipro, Donetsk (occupied by Russia), Izmail (bordering Cfa), Kharkiv, Kherson, Kryvyi Rih, Kyiv, Luhansk (occupied by Russia), Lviv, Mariupol (occupied by Russia), Odesa (bordering BSk/Cfa), Uzhhorod, Zaporizhzhia, Zhytomyr

Canada

 * Calgary (higher areas are Dfc)
 * Castlegar, BC (Dsb bordering Dfb)
 * Charlottetown
 * Edmonton
 * Fredericton
 * Gander, NL
 * Goose Bay, NL (bordering Dfc)
 * Halifax
 * Hamilton, ON
 * Kelowna, BC
 * Marystown, NL
 * Moncton
 * Montreal
 * Moose Factory
 * Murdochville, QC
 * Ottawa
 * Penticton, BC (bordering BSk)
 * Prince George, BC
 * Quebec City
 * Regina (bordering BSk)
 * Rimouski, QC
 * Sable Island (bordering Cfb)
 * St. John's, NL
 * Saskatoon (bordering BSk)
 * Stewart, BC
 * Sudbury
 * Sydney, NS
 * Thunder Bay
 * Toronto
 * Windsor
 * Winnipeg
 * Yarmouth, NS

Saint Pierre and Miquelon

 * Bordering Dfc

Midwest

 * Bismarck, ND
 * Cahokia Heights, IL (bordering Cfa)
 * Chicago
 * Cincinnati (downtown is Cfa)
 * Cleveland
 * Columbus, OH
 * Des Moines
 * Detroit
 * Duluth, MN
 * Fargo, ND
 * Grand Rapids, MI
 * Green Bay, WI
 * Indianapolis
 * Kansas City
 * Milwaukee
 * Minneapolis
 * North Platte, NE
 * Omaha
 * Rapid City, SD (bordering BSk)
 * Sioux Falls, SD
 * Springfield, IL
 * Toledo, OH
 * Topeka

Northeast

 * Albany
 * Allentown, PA
 * Boston
 * Bridgeport, CT (bordering Cfa)
 * Buffalo
 * Burlington, VT
 * Cape Cod (east side is Cfb)
 * Erie, PA
 * Harrisburg (downtown and riverfront (including City Island) are Cfa)
 * Hartford
 * Lancaster, PA (bordering Cfa)
 * Manchester, NH
 * New Haven
 * Newport, RI (bordering Cfa/Cfb)
 * Paterson, NJ (bordering Cfa)
 * Pittsburgh
 * Portland, ME
 * Poughkeepsie, NY
 * Princeton, NJ (bordering Cfa)
 * Providence, RI
 * Riverhead, NY (north side facing Long Island Sound is Cfa)
 * Rochester
 * Scranton, PA
 * Southampton, NY
 * Springfield, MA
 * Syracuse
 * White Plains, NY
 * Worcester, MA

South

 * Beech Mountain, NC
 * Boone, NC (bordering Cfb)
 * Brasstown Bald, GA (bordering Cfb)
 * Buckhannon, WV (bordering Cfa)
 * Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (bordering Cfa)
 * Clifton Forge, VA (bordering Cfa)
 * Clingmans Dome, NC/TN
 * Cumberland, MD
 * Ebright Azimuth, DE (bordering Cfa)
 * Elkins, WV
 * Mount Mitchell, NC
 * Romney, WV (bordering Cfa)
 * Wheeling, WV
 * White Sulphur Springs, WV
 * Winchester, VA (bordering Cfa)

West

 * Alturas, CA (Dsb bordering BSk/Csb)
 * Aspen, CO
 * Billings, MT (bordering BSk)
 * Cambridge, ID (Dsa)
 * Cheyenne, WY (bordering BSk)
 * Coeur D'Alene, ID (Dsb bordering Csb)
 * Fairbanks (bordering Dfc)
 * Flagstaff, AZ (bordering BSk)
 * Government Camp, OR (Dsb bordering Dsc)
 * Idaho Falls (bordering BSk)
 * Jackson, WY (bordering Dfc)
 * Joseph, OR
 * Juneau (bordering Dfc)
 * Klamath Falls, OR (Dsb)
 * Kodiak, AK (bordering Cfb/Cfc/Dfc)
 * Logan, UT
 * Los Alamos, NM (bordering BSk)
 * Loveland, CO (bordering BSk)
 * Mammoth Lakes, CA (Dsb)
 * Missoula, MT
 * Mountain City, NV (bordering BSk)
 * Nenana, AK (bordering Dfc)
 * Ogden, UT
 * Orofino, ID (Dsb bordering Dsa)
 * Park City, UT
 * Petersburg, AK
 * Salt Lake City (Dsa bordering BSk/Csa)
 * Santa Fe, NM (bordering BSk)
 * Skagway, AK (Dsb bordering Dsc)
 * Spokane, WA (Dsb bordering Csa/Csb/Dsa)
 * Tahoe City, CA (Dsb)
 * Taos, NM (bordering BSk)
 * Telluride, CO
 * Tusayan, AZ (bordering BSk)
 * Winthrop, WA (Dsb)

Australia

 * Falls Creek, Victoria (bordering Dfc)
 * Kiandra, New South Wales (bordering Cfb)
 * Mount Buller, Victoria (bordering Cfb/Cfc/Dfc)

Argentina

 * Alto Río Senguer, Chubut Province (Dsb bordering BSk/Csb/Csc/Dsc)
 * Puente del Inca, Mendoza Province (Dsb bordering Csb)

Chile

 * Lonquimay, Araucanía Region (bordering Cfb)
 * Sewell, O'Higgins Region (Dsb bordering Dsc)