Spokane Winter vs Midwest (live in, agriculture, moving to)

[Fedguy86]

I know this topic has been covered and it might seem redundant but I have a question about the climate. I might be moving to Spokane in the near future and I'm curious as to the harshness of winters there. Does Spokane experience the polar vortex/arctic air blasts that the Midwest does, or do the mountains shield from most of it? I'm fine with some snow and winter but I can't stand the ultra-frigid temperatures that we get here in IL. Just looking for a locals perspective. Thanks.

[TrafficCory]

Good grief.

[Fedguy86]

Originally Posted by TrafficCory

Good grief.

Good grief what?

[Yeledaf]

Originally Posted by Fedguy86

Good grief what?

A random Charlie Brown meme. Don't let it bother you.

The past two winters in Spokane have been quite mild. We do get spells of intensely cold weather, though local meteorologists tend to avoid terms like "vortex". Too scary. Here it's "Frigid Canadian air" or an "icy cold front on the way from the Arctic." In Spokane the unpleasantness is more a factor of the length of our winters than their intensity. Six months of relatively chilly weather (Halloween through Easter) is not particularly unusual.

[Fedguy86]

Originally Posted by Yeledaf

A random Charlie Brown meme. Don't let it bother you.

The past two winters in Spokane have been quite mild. We do get spells of intensely cold weather, though local meteorologists tend to avoid terms like "vortex". Too scary. Here it's "Frigid Canadian air" or an "icy cold front on the way from the Arctic." In Spokane the unpleasantness is more a factor of the length of our winters than their intensity. Six months of relatively chilly weather (Halloween through Easter) is not particularly unusual.

Thanks for the reply. I grew up in the snow belt of NE Ohio, lived in CA for 10 years, and now work took me to IL. My agency has an office in Spokane and my wife and I don't like it here so we're looking. I was just trying to get a comparison of the winters there compared to OH and IL, where winter typically runs from Nov to early March. It doesn't seem as brutal there as it does here, plus there is beautiful scenery to look at unlike the flat fields here.

[Yeledaf]

Originally Posted by Fedguy86

Thanks for the reply. I grew up in the snow belt of NE Ohio, lived in CA for 10 years, and now work took me to IL. My agency has an office in Spokane and my wife and I don't like it here so we're looking. I was just trying to get a comparison of the winters there compared to OH and IL, where winter typically runs from Nov to early March. It doesn't seem as brutal there as it does here, plus there is beautiful scenery to look at unlike the flat fields here.

Oh, we have flat fields here, too, to the west of us. The Columbia Plateau stretches from the western edge of Spokane all the way to the Cascades (about 175 miles), though the Columbia gorge halfway across does provide some visual relief. To the south, roiling farmland for miles and miles. And miles. It's to the north and east that you'll find the. Most densely forested and scenic areas, stretching all the way to western Montana and up into British Columbia.

[Fedguy86]

Originally Posted by Yeledaf

Oh, we have flat fields here, too, to the west of us. The Columbia Plateau stretches from the western edge of Spokane all the way to the Cascades (about 175 miles), though the Columbia gorge halfway across does provide some visual relief. To the south, roiling farmland for miles and miles. And miles. It's to the north and east that you'll find the. Most densely forested and scenic areas, stretching all the way to western Montana and up into British Columbia.

That's fine with me, as i know that agriculture is big in that area, but it's just nice to have mountains and forests nearby. Where I am now has nothing. You have to drive for a few hours to get to anything remotely nice. The photos I've seen of Spokane look beautiful. It's either there or northern CA for us.

[bigbuglf]

I'm glad you asked this question, Fedguy86! I was going to post a similar question. I grew up in SE MI and I wonder how the winters in Spokane are compared to there. I'm wondering if Spokane gets as bitterly cold, as well as so many gray, dreary, dead looking days as MI does. A friend of mine who has lived in Spokane and Chicago said she thought Spokane was colder. I find that hard to believe, but who knows?

It would be great to hear from others who have lived back in the upper mid-west and now live in Spokane. How would you say it compares?

I am in AZ now where our winters are nice, but the summers seem to last forever...

[PS90]

Originally Posted by bigbuglf

I'm glad you asked this question, Fedguy86! I was going to post a similar question. I grew up in SE MI and I wonder how the winters in Spokane are compared to there. I'm wondering if Spokane gets as bitterly cold, as well as so many gray, dreary, dead looking days as MI does. A friend of mine who has lived in Spokane and Chicago said she thought Spokane was colder. I find that hard to believe, but who knows?

It would be great to hear from others who have lived back in the upper mid-west and now live in Spokane. How would you say it compares?

I am in AZ now where our winters are nice, but the summers seem to last forever...

https://outflux.net/weather/noaa/ind...66%3BFORID%3A9

According to this source, Spokane and Chicago are similar in Average Highs, Spokane has much less extreme Average Lows (At NIGHT, Spokane is warmer in the winter/cooler in the summer compared to Chicago), and Spokane is sunnier and less humid in the summer, but cloudier and more humid in the winter.

However, I have no real-world experience with Mid-west weather.

[bigbuglf]

Thanks for the reply, PS90, even without the real-world experience. That is an interesting source for weather comparisons. The lower humidity in the summer is a definite plus.