A limited-area model (LAM) nested in a general circulation model (GCM) is applied to the simulation of wintertime (January) climate over Europe. The output of a coarse scale GCM is used to drive a high-resolution LAM over an area including central and western Europe, the British isles with adjacent oceans and the western Mediterranean. The models used are the Community Climate Model (CCM1) of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the Pennsylvania State University /NCAR mesoscale model (MM40. The January climatology of a 10-year simulation with the standard CCM1 at a 7.5¿¿4.5¿ (R15) longitude--latitude resolution is first analyzed. The model simulates realistic average large-scale circulations, major storm tracks, and large scale precipitation patterns over the region, although cyclogenesis over the Mediterranean is not captured due to the coarseness of the model topography. Using the output of the R15 simulation to provide lateral boundary conditions, 10 Januaries are simulated with the nested MM4 at 70 km grid point spacing, a spacing sufficient to resolve the main topographical features and coastlines of western Europe. Two storm cases simulated with the nested MM4 are discussed in detail, which show how the model captures cyclogenetic processes over the Mediterranean and in the lee of the Alps, and simulates realistic development of synoptic systems. Owing to its better representation of topography and coastlines, the nested MM4 produces a regional distribution of climatic variables such as precipitation, surface air temperature, cloudiness, and snow cover which is much more realistic than that of the driving CCM1 alone and compares well with high resolution observations. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1990