Interesting European Weather Facts and Extremes

                  (click here for charts and data represented in metric)

    Interesting European weather facts

• Milan, Italy experiences the most weather variety. Although it only averages 7 days of snow per year,
  the average temperature difference between summer and winter is a large 49 degrees. In addition, the city
  averages a high amount of precipitation (38.3 in) and 49 days of thunderstorms per year, which can include
  high winds, hail and heavy rain.
  
• London, England experiences the least weather variety. London averages only 13 thunderstorm days 
  annually and light precipitation is evenly spread throughout the year. 
  
• The Top 2 foggiest cities are in Italy (Milan and Rome). London is not even in the top 10.
  In February 1998, a 250 vehicle accident occurred on a fog-bound highway in Italy. Rice fields south 
  of Milan and pollution have historically helped to produce the fog of of this city.
  
• Helsinki, Finland has the most freezing days and the climate is similar to that of Alaska. 25% of 
  Finland lies north of the Arctic Circle. During the winter, northern Finland experiences no sun for 
  51 consecutive days, while in summer the sun does not set for 73 days. In the north, snow cover 
  usually lasts for seven months, from mid-October to mid-May
  
• Madrid, Spain is the least humid city partly due to it being the highest capital in Europe at
  2,188 feet. Temperatures fall at night due to low humidity. Otherwise Madrid would be
  one of the hottest cities as well. The all-time highest European temperature occurred in Seville, Spain 
  on August 4th, 1881 when it was a scorching 122 degrees
  
• Athens, Greece is the warmest because it is on the leeward side of several mountain ranges. On June
  27, 2007 Athens recorded it's highest ever temperature of 115.1 degrees.
  
• Copenhagen, Denmark experiences the highest number of rainy days. The climate is very similar 
  to that of Washington state. Copenhagen has a maritime climate due to Denmark being almost 
  encircled by water.
  
• Although London is thought of as being "rainy", the top city of Zurich, Switzerland receives almost twice 
  as much rain as London (42.3 to 23.3 inches). London is among the driest of Europe's capitals.
  
• Although most of Europe lies in latitudes more northerly than New York, the Atlantic Ocean tends
  to moderate temperatures
  
• Amsterdam is the most humid city. The city experiences 214 rainy days a year and most of this
  precipitation falls during long periods of drizzle or light rain
  
• Stockholm, Sweden averages only six hours of daylight during December, but on June 20th the sun
  rises at 3:30am and doesn't set until 10:09pm, for a total time of 18 hours 38 minutes. Even
  during the long summer days, the average high temperature is only 69 degrees and the city  
  averages only 47 days above 70 degrees annually.
  

            The charts and facts are based on the Top 20 European metro destinations. The "Most / Least Variety in Weather" charts are
                scored in four categories: seasonal temperature difference, precipitation and number of days with thunderstorms and snow. 
                Cities that ranked high in multiple categories and experienced large numbers of thunderstorm days attained higher scores.
                Climate data courtesy of the World Meteorological Organization, weatherreports.com, the BBC, myforecast.com and
                worldweather.org