Climate:The north–south difference in Germany, between 55°03"N (at List on Sylt) and
47°16"N (around Oberstdorf, Bavaria) equals almost eight degrees of latitude (or 889 km), but this
can't largely be seen in different average temperatures. Instead, there is a stronger west–east cline in
temperature. This is explained by the North's flat and open landscapes and its closeness to the sea,
and South's higher terrain, larger distance from the sea, and the Alps. These mountains prevent
much of the usually warmer Mediterranean air to blow up into southern Germany. And north of the
Alps and the Carpathians, the farther away from the Atlantic Ocean with for its latitudes warm
current, known as the Gulf Stream - and the closer to Russia's and Siberia's extremely cold winter
winds, one gets, the local climate becomes colder, even at the same latitude and altitude. Even if
Siberian winter winds are not dominating, when they do hit Germany, temperatures can in extreme
cases fall to -30 C and below during the nights, and this has an effect on the average temperatures of
November to March. Although rare, when such cold air reaches Germany, the Eastern parts becomes
more affected compared to the Western parts. These factors results in, that Hamburg in the North
has the same annual average temperature as Munich in the South has. The annual average
temperature in Hamburg is +9.5 C and +9.7 in Munich whilst Berlin has an annual average
temperature of +9.9 C.The warmest area in Germany is the area bordering to France and west of the
Schwarzwald hills. Roughly between Karlsruhe in the north, and down to the Swiss border. Whilst the
coldest area (except for mountain peaks) is found in the southeastern parts of eastern Germany,
around Dresden and Görlitz; roughly just two Latitudes higher. But the difference at annual average
base, isn't extreme. Freiburg im Breisgau (located a little south of Karlsruhe) has an average annual
temperature of +11.4 C, Görlitz has an equal value of +8.8 C. A difference of 2.6 degree C. Colder
meteorological stations in Germany can be found, but mainly at notably higher altitudes.Germany's
climate is temperate and marine, with cold, cloudy winters and warm summers and in the south
occasional warm föhn wind. The greater part of Germany lies in the cool/temperate climatic zone in
which humid westerly winds predominate. In the northwest and the north, the climate is oceanic and
rain falls all the year round. Winters there are relatively mild and summers comparatively cool. In the
east, the climate shows clear continental features; winters can be very cold for long periods, and
summers can become very warm. Dry periods are often recorded.In the centre and the south, there
is a transitional climate which may be predominantly oceanic or continental, according to the general
weather situation. Winters are cool and summers warm, though maximum temperatures can exceed
30 °C (86 °F) for several days in a row during heat waves. The warmest regions of Germany can be
found in the south-west (see rhine rift, German Wine Route and Palatinate). Here summers can be
hot with many days exceeding 30 °C (86 °F). Sometimes, minimum temperatures do not drop below
20 °C (68 °F), which is relatively rare in other regions.Though the German climate is rarely extreme,
there are occasional spikes of cold or heat. Winter temperatures can sometimes drop to two-digit
negative temperatures for a few days in a row. Conversely, summer can see periods of very high
temperatures for a week or two. The recorded extremes are a maximum of 42.6 °C (108.7 °F) (July
2019, Lingen), and a minimum of −37.8 °C (−36.0 °F) (February 1929, in Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm).