the same latitude and altitude. This is caused by some areas being further away from the Atlantic Ocean's Gulf Stream, known for having a warm current for its latitude, in addition to being closer to Russia's and Siberia's extremely cold winter winds. Even if Siberian winter winds are not dominating, when they do hit Germany, temperatures can in extreme cases fall to -20 C in the mountains and below during the nights, and this has an effect on the average temperatures of November to March. Although rare, when such cold air reaches Germany, the North-Eastern parts become mainly affected, while the Southwest receives few cold days in general. The Gulf Stream results in the coast having the mildest nights in the winter, almost never freezing. The warmest area in Germany is the area bordering France, west of the Schwarzwald hills, roughly between Mannheim to the north and the Swiss border to the south. The coldest area (except for mountain peaks) is found in the southeastern parts of eastern Germany around Dresden and Görlitz up to Berlin. Germany's climate is temperate and marine in the West, humid continental to the East and humid subtropical in the Southwest. It features mild winters in the Southwest, cold winters in the East and is mostly overcast from November to February. Summers are mild to warm in the north and hot in the south. The North and Middle of Germany lies fully in the temperate climatic zone in which humid westerly winds predominate. In the northwest and the north, the climate is oceanic. Winters there are relatively mild and summers comparatively cool. In the east, the climate shows clear continental features; winters can be very cold for long periods, and summers can become very warm. Dry periods are often recorded. In the center and the south, there is a transitional climate which may be predominantly oceanic or continental, according to the general weather situation. Winters are cool and summers warm, though maximum temperatures can exceed for several days in a row during heat waves. The warmest regions of Germany can be found in the southwest (see rhine rift, German Wine Route and Palatinate). Here summers are hot with many days up to . Sometimes, minimum temperatures do not drop below , which is relatively rare in other regions, except the North Sea Coast and Western City climates. The recorded extremes are a maximum of (July