Boise vs Idaho falls (Lewiston: live, move to, smog)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My wife and are are considering a move to Idaho but she being from AZ is opposed to a lot of snow can anyone give me a rough idea of amount of snow both locations get? I love snow and cold weather it's the 100° days I don't like
Boise's average is 20 inches, Idaho Falls' average is 29 inches.
Being the "banana belt" , Boise will get warmer in the Summer months whereas IF might flirt with the low 90's.
The difference in temps is due to the elevation. Boise is around 2,700 feet, (above mean sea level), and Idaho Falls is around 4,700. The Dry Adiabatic Lapse Rate, (unsaturated air), is 10ºC per Km, or about 5 1/2º F per 1,000 feet. Two thousand feet elevation difference between Boise and Idaho Falls, both in an arid/semi-arid environment, similar latitude and ecosystem; all other factors being equal, you'll get an 11º F temperature difference.
Because its lower than I.F., Boise is most often a few degrees warmer in the winter. This means winter often sets in a little later and leaves a little sooner too.
The tradeoff is Boise lies in a low spot that is surrounded on 3 sides by hills and mountains. This creates frequent air inversions, where colder air is trapped close to the ground while higher elevations actually become warmer than Boise. This trapped cold air quickly becomes stagnant, so Boise is prone to 'log smog' in the winter that can persist for days to weeks when it's bad.
Idaho Falls also gets temp inversions, but it's much less surrounded by higher terrain, so the inversions don't last very long. Idaho Falls is closer to the Great Divide, however, so it gets more breeze year around. This is great 3 seasons of the year, as it keeps the chill factor a bit lower, but can cause biting cold when the wind is blowing in the winter.
Chill factor happens year round. While a person doesn't actually become chilled in the summer, chill factor, cause by wind, allows a person's sweat to evaporate more readily, making the body's own air conditioning more effective at temps around 90º. At the same time, chill factor in winter can make a 48º day feel like 20º when it's windy.
Idaho Falls is not prone to smog at all. Smog isn't really a big factor here statewide as much as much as wildfire smoke is. Smoke from forest fires can travel very long distances; a big fire in Utah, for example, can make all of S. Idaho smoky if the wind pushes the smoke north, and can make central Idaho smoky if a fire in Oregon is caught in an easterly wind.
And Idaho catches fire all by itself, too. We have more unpopulated wilderness than any other state in the lower 48, so our own fires can be huge in a bad fire year.
All of this stuff is more important when considering a move here than snow. Every state in the intermountain west gets snow every year, and is cold in the winter, and much hotter in the summer. Every state is also dry east of the Great Divide.
Only the coasts in Oregon and Washington are truly temperate year round. And even Seattle and Portland get some snow every winter.
Life out here is always a trade-off in many ways. Weather is only one of them.
Boise lies in a low spot that is surrounded on 3 sides by hills and mountains.
This creates frequent air inversions...
The Boise I lived in (the one in Idaho) only has hills/mountains to the north.
The inversions aren't necessarily frequent, but they can last for weeks.
Concerning the OP's original question, neither Boise nor Idaho Falls.
Northern Idaho is the place to be.
The Boise I lived in (the one in Idaho) only has hills/mountains to the north.
The inversions aren't necessarily frequent, but they can last for weeks.
Concerning the OP's original question, neither Boise nor Idaho Falls.
Northern Idaho is the place to be.
True, Selway. But I generalized because it's difficult to describe the widely varied surrounding terrain surrounding Boise. Unless someone has never been out here, folks just don't have much of an idea as to what our geography is. People can understand hills and mountains very easily and I didn't want to spend too much time in geographical description.
Because its lower than I.F., Boise is most often a few degrees warmer in the winter. This means winter often sets in a little later and leaves a little sooner too.
The tradeoff is Boise lies in a low spot that is surrounded on 3 sides by hills and mountains. This creates frequent air inversions, where colder air is trapped close to the ground while higher elevations actually become warmer than Boise. This trapped cold air quickly becomes stagnant, so Boise is prone to 'log smog' in the winter that can persist for days to weeks when it's bad.
Idaho Falls also gets temp inversions, but it's much less surrounded by higher terrain, so the inversions don't last very long. Idaho Falls is closer to the Great Divide, however, so it gets more breeze year around. This is great 3 seasons of the year, as it keeps the chill factor a bit lower, but can cause biting cold when the wind is blowing in the winter.
Chill factor happens year round. While a person doesn't actually become chilled in the summer, chill factor, cause by wind, allows a person's sweat to evaporate more readily, making the body's own air conditioning more effective at temps around 90º. At the same time, chill factor in winter can make a 48º day feel like 20º when it's windy.
Idaho Falls is not prone to smog at all. Smog isn't really a big factor here statewide as much as much as wildfire smoke is. Smoke from forest fires can travel very long distances; a big fire in Utah, for example, can make all of S. Idaho smoky if the wind pushes the smoke north, and can make central Idaho smoky if a fire in Oregon is caught in an easterly wind.
And Idaho catches fire all by itself, too. We have more unpopulated wilderness than any other state in the lower 48, so our own fires can be huge in a bad fire year.
All of this stuff is more important when considering a move here than snow. Every state in the intermountain west gets snow every year, and is cold in the winter, and much hotter in the summer. Every state is also dry east of the Great Divide.
Only the coasts in Oregon and Washington are truly temperate year round. And even Seattle and Portland get some snow every winter.
Life out here is always a trade-off in many ways. Weather is only one of them.
banjomike is correct regardless of what someone who lives in the Lewiston suburbs thinks.
The foothills/mountains are north and spread to the east and west of Boise and the Owyhee Mountains are across the valley to the South. The O's may not be right next to city limits but their presence is seen.
Yeah I vsisted CDA in 95' Loved it was much smaller then But lots of snow. So its a no go.
ML
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
