The only areas where summers are cool in Syria, are in places with an altitude of over 600M. Slunfeh, Bludan, and Mashta al Helou are local favorites. Further inland as you approach the steppe and the Syrian Desert the climate gradually becomes more arid, with colder and more extreme winters and hotter, drier summers. 

At Aleppo, in the northwest, the average August temperature is about 30° C, and the average January temperature is about 4.4° C, and Damascus is very similar. Snow may occur in winter away from the coast, and frosts are common. In the Desert regions of Palmyra and Deir Ezzor, in the central region at the edge of the Syrian Desert, the corresponding temperatures are about 30.8° C and about 
6.4° C.

Yearly rainfall in the coast and Western Mountains ranges from 762 to 1020 millimeters. Further inland as you head Eastwards rainfall decreases rapidly; the steppe between Aleppo and Damascus receives about 255 to 510 mm a year. Further towards the Desert, rainfall gradually decreases ranging from 127 mm to less than 25 mm in the southeast. Rainfall is variable from year to year, particularly in the spring and autumn months. In the 99-2000 season Syria did not receive much rainfall and the water reserves are quite low. There is fear that Syria will suffer a drought.

The Winds:
In the Winter Syria is subjected to Eastern, Western and Northerly winds. The prevailing summer winds are either from the North or from the West. The Coast however, in the summer, receives winds from the West during the day, and from the East during the night. There are few sand or dust storms near the cities however the Desert villages are subjected to it regularly. Once or twice a year sand-bearing winds, or Khamasins, are almost 1500m high, this darkens the sky into a dark red color.