What Is A Mediterranean Climate?

Studying the world, climatologists came up with a classification system of distinct climate zones, areas with general trends of weather unique to those kinds of places.  One such climate zone was named after the predominent weather patterns in the Mediterranean.

The irony is that the Mediterranean climate is perhaps the least typical of it's type.  It is wetter in summer, colder in winter and tends to also be hotter in summer than other areas of the world also classified as having a "Mediterranean" climate.

The general description is that such an area is dominated by high pressure in the summer.  Rainfall is generally low-to-moderate and concentrated almost entirely in winter months.  Coastal breezes cause temperatures to not be too severe, either, in summer.

Mediterranean climate areas are on the west coastal zone of California, the southern and South-eastern fringes of Australia, the SE tip of South Africa, part of the coast in Chile and of course, in coastal areas of most of the Mediterranean sea, too.