Weather in Kvarner

The Kvarner Gulf region, with a surface area of approximately 3,300 sq km, stretches from the Istrian coast in the northwest and the Opatija Riviera in the north, down to Pag Island in the south. The four main islands are Krk, Cres, Losinj and Rab. Kvarner enjoys an equable climate; summers are warm and winters pleasantly mild. Kvarner's annual temperature averages 14° C.

The Ucka and Velebit mountain ranges north of the Kvarner Gulf protect the region; they're the reason for its wonderfully cool summer nights. The summer humidity is tempered by the refreshing dryness of the mistral wind. The cold, northeasterly wind from the Adriatic, the bora, rapidly lowers winter temperatures in Kvarner; it also cools down the summer heat. The sirocco, a Mediterranean wind, brings rain. Add to these factors the Dinaric Mountains near the coast, with ski slopes on one side and the sea on the other, and you'll understand why Kvarner residents can sometimes ski in the mountains and swim in the Adriatic on the same day!

Kvarner (Quarnero in Italian) perhaps originated from the Latin Mare Quaternatium, or "sea of four parts". The Romans who named it probably had the location of the islands in mind; Rab, Krk and Pag, parallel to the coast, and Cres and Losinj to their west, divide the open sea into four areas.