In the northwest of Turkey but still fairly central, Ankara's climate is temperate and semi-arid with four pronounced seasons. Given the capital's elevation and inland location on the eastern edge of the Anatolian Plateau, its seasons are more extreme than in the port city of Istanbul. Ankara's winters are relatively cold, going as low as 21°F (-6°C) in January with regular night frost throughout the season, and its clear, dry summers can reach 86°F (30°C) in July.
Most precipitation in Ankara comes in the form of winter snow and spring rain, the latter especially in the month of May, and the dry season is from late June to early October.