Average monthly temperatures therefore do not change much during the year. In middle latitudes, from the Tropic of Cancer to the Arctic Circle and from the Tropic of Capricorn to the Antarctic Circle, solar heating is considerably greater in summer than in winter. In these latitudes, summers are therefore warmer than winters. In high latitudes, north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Antarctic Circle, the sun never rises during large portions of the year. Therefore, the contrast in solar heating between summer and winter is extreme.
Summers are cool to mild, and winters are bitterly cold.
The higher a place is, the colder it is. The temperature of the air determines how much precipitation falls as snow, rather than rain. Even in the tropics, it is not unusual for mountaintops to be snow-covered. The surface features of the earth influence the development of clouds and precipitation. As humid air sweeps up the slopes of a mountain range, the air cools, and so clouds form.