Climate
The prevailing climate on Medvednica is the so-called “beech climate” characterised by prominent seasons, which means that in the spring the forests of Medvednica look different than in the winter, summer or autumn.
The climate of Medvednica is different from that of the lowland – there is more precipitation on the mountain, the temperatures are lower on average, and there is more snow in the winter. For this reason we can find a pleasant refreshment on Medvednica in the summer, whereas in the winter we can seek a refuge from the lowland fog on the mountain. There are a hundred more sunshine hours recorded annually on the mountain than at its foot!
With its geographical position, Medvednica “guards the back” of our capital city: strong and cold northern winds “break down” on Medvednica, ravaging its backbone and forested hillsides, while the occasional strong ice and wind gusts cause damages to its forests. The last such strong wind gust was caused by the storm Teodor, which passed through Croatia on 11 November 2013 and knocked down 40 000 m³ of wood on Medvednica in only a few hours!
The climate measurements and records have been kept on Medvednica since 1888. Nowadays there are several rain gauge stations in the Nature Park, on the southern slopes near the city: Čučerje, Markuševec, Šestine, Mikulići and Bijenik. Located at 988 m above sea level, the highest rain gauge station is the one on Puntijarka.
Medvednica climate in numbers
Lowest recorded
temperature
–19,8 °C
Average annual
temperature
6,6 °C
Highest recorded
temperature
28,7 °C
Average annual
precipitation
1267,5 mm
Average number of days
under snow per year
93,9 days
Average number
of sunshine hours per year
1820,3 hours
