Izmir, the biggest Turkish city in the Aegean sea, has Mediterranean climate. Winters are rather mild and summers are hot and sunny. Precipitation amounts are up to 700 mm per year and they peak in winter while it rains very rarely in summer. The winters, from December to mid-March, are relatively mild and quite rainy. The average temperature in January is 7 centigrade and it rains 10 days a month. The city is less exposed to cold spell than Istanbul. Despite that, cold air masses can still arrive, leading to night frost; for example in January 2013 the the temperature dropped to -8 centigrade.
In Izmir it hardly ever snows but it is not impossible. Springs, from mid-February to May, are mild, while in March the weather is still a little unstable, it gradually becomes sunnier and we have more rainfall. Summers, from June to mid-September, are warm, humid and sunny. In addition to a steady wind from the north, some winds also blow from the sea. However there maybe periods of intense heat with a temperature up to 35-40 centigrade. Autumns, from mid-September to November, are pleasantly warm and sunny at the beginning, while rainy periods become more frequent over the weeks. However, October is often still a pleasant and sunny month,, especially in the first half. Amount of sunshine in Izmir is great in summer, when the sky is practically always clear; while in winter, sunny periods alternate with periods of bad weather, with cloudy skies. In summer, northern winds prevent the sea temperature from becoming too hot. The sea temperature reaches 22-23 centigrade from June to September.