Climatic Conditions:

The Laurentian type of climate has cold, dry winters and warm, wet summers. Winter temperatures may be well below freezing-point and snow falls to quite a depth. Summers are as warm as the tropics (21° - 27°C) and if it were not for the cooling effects of the off-shore cold currents from the Arctic, the summer might be even hotter. Though rain falls throughout the year, there is a distinct summer maximum from the easterly winds from the oceans. Of the annual precipitation of 30 to 60 inches, two-thirds come in the summer. Winter is dry and cold, because the winds are dry Westerlies that blowout from the continental interiors.