Climate and Geography
Rijeka's position overlooking the Kvarner Bay with its islands (Cres, Krk) on the south, the Učka mountain on the west, the mountains of Gorski kotar to the north and the Velebit range to the east offers an impressive natural setting.
The terrain configuration, with mountains raising steeply just a few miles inland from the shores of the Adriatic, provides for some striking climatic and landscape contrasts in a small geographic area. Beaches can be enjoyed throughout summer in a typically Mediterranean environment along the coastal areas of the city to the east (Pećine, Kostrena) and west (Kantrida, Preluk). At the same time, the ski resort of Platak, located only about 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) from the city, offers alpine skiing and abundant snow during winter months (at times until early May). The Kvarner Bay and its islands can be observed from the ski slopes.
Rijeka has a Humid subtropical climate with warm summers and relatively mild and rainy winters. Snow is rare (usually 3 days per year, almost always in traces). There are 22 days a year with maximum of 30 °C (86 °F) or higher, while one day a year temperature does not exceed 0 °C (32 °F). Fog appears in about 4 days per year, mainly in winter. The climate is also characterized by frequent rainfall. Cold bura (bora) winds are common in winter time.
There are 1922.5 hours of sunshine per year. Maximum is in July with 297.6 hours, while minimum is in December with 97.8 hours of sunshine.
| Climate data for Rijeka | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 20.0 (68.0) |
21.4 (70.5) |
24.0 (75.2) |
27.3 (81.1) |
33.7 (92.7) |
36.7 (98.1) |
40.0 (104.0) |
38.1 (100.6) |
34.8 (94.6) |
28.8 (83.8) |
25.5 (77.9) |
20.4 (68.7) |
40.0 (104.0) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 8.7 (47.7) |
9.5 (49.1) |
12.4 (54.3) |
16.1 (61.0) |
20.9 (69.6) |
24.6 (76.3) |
27.7 (81.9) |
27.6 (81.7) |
23.6 (74.5) |
18.6 (65.5) |
13.4 (56.1) |
10.0 (50.0) |
17.76 (63.96) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 5.6 (42.1) |
6.2 (43.2) |
8.8 (47.8) |
12.6 (54.7) |
17.1 (62.8) |
20.8 (69.4) |
23.4 (74.1) |
23.1 (73.6) |
19.1 (66.4) |
14.5 (58.1) |
10.1 (50.2) |
6.9 (44.4) |
14.02 (57.23) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 2.7 (36.9) |
3.2 (37.8) |
5.5 (41.9) |
8.8 (47.8) |
12.0 (53.6) |
16.2 (61.2) |
18.6 (65.5) |
18.5 (65.3) |
15.3 (59.5) |
11.1 (52.0) |
7.1 (44.8) |
4.1 (39.4) |
10.26 (50.46) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −11.4 (11.5) |
−12.8 (9.0) |
−7.7 (18.1) |
−0.2 (31.6) |
2.1 (35.8) |
7.4 (45.3) |
10.4 (50.7) |
9.1 (48.4) |
4.8 (40.6) |
0.6 (33.1) |
−4.5 (23.9) |
−8.9 (16.0) |
−12.8 (9.0) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 134.9 (5.311) |
114.3 (4.5) |
104.0 (4.094) |
110.7 (4.358) |
102.4 (4.031) |
110.8 (4.362) |
82.0 (3.228) |
100.2 (3.945) |
165.3 (6.508) |
175.7 (6.917) |
183.4 (7.22) |
154.2 (6.071) |
1,537.9 (60.547) |
| Avg. precipitation days | 11 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 128 |
| Avg. snowy days | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 108.9 | 124.5 | 149.9 | 176.3 | 235.4 | 252.3 | 298.4 | 274.6 | 204.2 | 163.9 | 102.8 | 96.9 | 2,188.1 |
| Source #1: World Meteorological Organisation (UN) | |||||||||||||
| Source #2: National Meteorological and Hydrological Service (Croatia) | |||||||||||||
| 75 km (47 mi) to Trieste | 114 km (71 mi) to Ljubljana | 167 km (104 mi) to Zagreb | ||
| 14 km (9 mi) to Opatija | 580 km (360 mi) to Belgrade | |||
| Rijeka | ||||
| 106 km (66 mi) to Pula | 75 km (47 mi) to Cres | 35 km (22 mi) to Crikvenica |
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