Dry hot days are often relieved by seasonal breezes. Winters are very mild with moderate rain.
Because Heraklion is further south than Athens, it has a warmer climate during winter but cooler during summer because of the Aegean sea.
The maximum temperature during the summer period is usually not more than 28 – 30 °C (Athens normal maximum temperature is about 5 °C higher). The minimum temperature record is -0.8 °C.
A new temperature record for February was set at 27.8 °C, reached on 15 February 2016.