Rate the Climate: Lewiston, Idaho (winters, cold)

[Joe90]

Originally Posted by MrMarbles

There is quite a bit of oceanic influence, even though the place is over 300 miles inland. This explains the fairly mild winters (for a place this far north). On the other hand, there are a good number of rainy days and, I imagine, not a whole lot of sun.

Those winter lows are very mild for it's location. There are places around here with the same average lows (warmer highs though), which are less than 50 miles from the coast. They wouldn't get anything like the record lows of Lewiston though.

[CairoCanadian]

This is extremely similar to - but slightly more moderate than - the climate of the Okanagan valley.

I rate it C- for long warm summers and not too snowy, not too bleak winters. However, what makes winters bad in places like these is the interminable cloud cover. It may surprise some, but winters in the inland PNW, despite being drier than the coast, are often more cloudy than their coastal equivalents in winter.

[CairoCanadian]

What's up with those extreme temperatures though? Seems strange given it has more temperate averages than a place like Osoyoos I'm familiar with:

Osoyoos, British Columbia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Dreamnine]

I'm surprised at how mild it is given that it's the same or a bit further from the ocean than places like Spokane/Couer D'Alene: Spokane, Washington - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It is low-lying, though, and in a valley.

Edit: Ah, Spokane/Couer D'Alene has the Cascades to protect it.

[Nivalis]

Originally Posted by Dreamnine

I'd prefer Pocatello:

Pocatello, Idaho - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Same here. Lewiston gets a C, but I would rate Pocatello as A.

[CairoCanadian]

Climatically I think my favorite semi-arid spot in the PNW is probably The Dalles:

The Dalles, Oregon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It's like a PNW interior summer attached to a PNW coast winter, minus much of the rain!

[cjg5]

B+. Could use a little bit of a colder winter.

[ilovemycomputer90]

Yawn

C

[nei]

Originally Posted by CairoCanadian

Climatically I think my favorite semi-arid spot in the PNW is probably The Dalles:

The Dalles, Oregon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It's like a PNW interior summer attached to a PNW coast winter, minus much of the rain!

if you pass through in spring in a good year it doesn't look that dry. Summer is a different story.

obligatory photos...

looking at the city:



a few miles to the northeast in Washington (it actually started to rain soon afterwards and it was mid July):

[dunno what to put here]

C- winters mild, summers hot, not to mentioned dry... but it snows which is good!