Weather locations in Macedonia

Macedonia, now the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in the central Balkans, surrounded by Albania, Bulgaria, Kosovo and Serbia. Its position matters more than its size: the Vardar valley opens south to the Aegean, so warm, dry Mediterranean air reaches well into the interior, while the high mountain walls on all sides hold the cold in winter. The country therefore moves between a Mediterranean and a continental climate across a few dozen kilometres.

Main climate types

The lowlands of the Vardar and Crna Reka valleys, including the Pelagonia plain around Prilep and Bitola, have a hot-summer Mediterranean climate with dry hot summers and mild wet winters. The Skopje basin and the surrounding plateaus are more continental, and the mountain belts of the Babuna, Selečka and the Šar and Baba ranges cross into a cold alpine climate with long snow cover.

Temperatures

Skopje averages about 1 °C to 2 °C in January and about 24 °C in July. Prilep and other southern valley towns run hotter in summer and slightly milder in winter, and daytime highs frequently pass 35 °C in July. Highland stations sit several degrees colder, with below-freezing means in January above about 1,500 metres and hard frosts on the highest ground. Mountain nights in summer are cool.

Rainfall

Annual rainfall is lowest in the warm lowlands, roughly 450 mm to 500 mm at Skopje and a little less in parts of Pelagonia, and highest on the mountains, which commonly exceed 1,000 mm. Almost all of the rain falls between late autumn and early spring, while summer is dry and thunderstorms are short and local. Snow settles on the towns and mountains in December and January, and persists in the higher valleys into early spring.

When to go

Late May to June and September to October combine mild temperatures with less rain, and are the best months for the lakes and the towns. Winter brings snow to the mountains for skiing, while July and August are hot and dusty.