E g y p t : C l i m a t e  &  W e a t h e r

» Temperatures vary widely in the inland desert areas, especially in summer, when they may range from 7° C at night to 43° C during the day. During winter, temperatures in the desert fluctuate less dramatically, but they can be as low as 0° C at night and as high as 18° C during the day. A phenomenon of Egypt 's climate is the hot spring wind that blows across the country. The winds, known to Europeans as the sirocco and to Egyptians as the khamsin , usually arrive in April but occasionally occur in March and May. The winds form in small but vigorous low-pressure areas in the Isthmus of Suez and sweep across the northern coast of Africa .

» Heavy winter rains fall along the Mediterranean coast but are less frequent in Cairo and in the interior. During the winter months (from November to February), however, temperatures can fall to freezing. The spring in Egypt is generally mild but plagued by the khamsin, a hot and bitter wind that brings blinding sand and dust storms and heralds the coming of summer.