Continentality

Continentality is the tendency of land to experience more thermal variation than water, due to the land's lower specific heat capacity. Continental climate also tends to be dryer than oceanic climate as there is less moisture input to the atmosphere from evaporation. Because temperature and moisture content are key factors in influencing regional climate, continentality affects and influences both temperature and precipitation.

This causes localised as well as global effects on weather patterns. For instance, high pressure caused by cold, sinking air over Siberia in winter and low pressure caused by warm, rising air over Siberia in summer help drive the monsoons of Southern Asia. In Canada for example the continental climate is less chaired but the west and east coasts have very moderated temperatures. But, ne'er the Great Lakes its also moderated because of the great body of water

A characteristic of regions that lack the temperature moderating effects of the sea and that exhibit a greater range of minimum and maximum temperature, both daily and annually.

The sea itself has its own weather pattern. Winds and currents range depending on the ocean. Land near the sea share its patterns, whereas further away the land begins to develop its own weather patterns.

Continentality is the reverse of water moderation. Mean daily range (MDR), the difference between the mean maximum and the mean minimum temperatures, estimates continentality.

Temperatures in continental sites are more variable and extreme. In summer, continental sites receive more heat to assist fruit and vine maturation, but they also have increased hazard from other related weather events characteristics of continental sites which interfere with grapevine function.

Read more about Continentality:  Water Moderates Both Summer and Winter Temperatures, In Summary