ITBC - European Tour Operator, tour, excursion, hotel, Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Germany, Slovakia

europe, weather, prague, austria

Despite centuries of clear-cutting for cultivation, forests still cover about one-third of the Czech Republic. Most remaining virgin forest is in uncultivatable mountain areas. Above the tree line (about 1400m) there is little but grasses, shrubs and lichens. The richest wildlife are bears, wolves, lynxes and other wildcats, marmots, otters, marten and mink. Pheasants, partridges, ducks, wild geese and other game birds are common in woods and marshes, and commonly hunted. Eagles, vultures, osprey, storks, bustards and grouse are rarer.

The damp continental climate over most of the Czech Republic is responsible for warm, showery summers; cold, snowy winters; and generally changeable conditions. July is the hottest month everywhere, January the coldest. From December through February, temperatures push below freezing even in the lowlands, and are bitter in the mountains. There is no real 'dry season', and the long, sunny hot spells of summer tend to be broken by sudden, heavy thunderstorms. Winter brings 40 to 100 days of snow on the ground (about 130 in the mountains), plus fog in the lowlands.