Skopje has a borderline humid subtropical climate (''Cfa'' in the Köppen climate classification) and cold semi-arid climate (''BSk''). with a mean annual temperature of . Precipitation is relatively low due to the pronounced rain shadow of the Prokletije mountains to the northwest, being significantly less than what is received on the Adriatic Sea coast at the same latitude. The summers are long, hot and relatively dry with low humidity. Skopje's average July high is . On average Skopje sees 88 days above  each year, and 10.2 days above  every year. Winters are short, relatively cold and wet. Snowfalls are common in the winter period, but heavy snow accumulation is rare and the snowcover lasts only for a few hours or a few days if heavy. In summer, temperatures are usually above  and sometimes above . In spring and autumn, the temperatures range from . In winter, the day temperatures are roughly in the range from , but at nights they often fall below  and sometimes below . Typically, temperatures throughout one year range from −13 °C to 39 °C. Occurrences of precipitation are evenly distributed throughout the year, being heaviest from October to December, and from April to June.