The weather
Here are some information on the climate or, more likely, "climates",
as Abruzzo has two climates: maritime and continental. The annual average
temperature varies from 8°-12° in the mountainous area to 12°-16°
in the maritime area; in both areas, though, the differences between
maximum and minimum temperature can be considerable.
The coldest month is January, when the average temperature on the coast
is 8°, while in the interior it often drops below zero.In the summer
the average temperature of both areas are similar: 24° on the coast,
20° in the interior. The slight difference is due to the overheating
of the rocky areas in the interior and the consequent letting out of
the heat during the night, mitigating the lowest temperatures caused
by the altitude. In the more internal areas, mainly in the most elevated
basins, besides the annual thermal changes, there are also noticeable
daily changes, that is a marked difference between the day and the night
temperature.Also the distribution of rainfall, mainly determined by
the mountains and their location, varies according to the area. The
rainfall reaches its maximum, in the whole region, in the month of November
and the minimum in the summer. On the mountains the rainfall becomes
snow lasting on the ground for different periods, according to different
altitudes: an average of 38 days, in the area of L'Aquila, at an altitude
of 55 to 1000 mts., 190 days at 2000 mts. and throughout the year on
the peak of the Corno Grande.