Spokane Climate And Geography

Before you move to a brand new city, it's nice to get an idea of what sort of scenery you might be enjoying on your walks and whether your bathroom furniture vanities are likely to become separated from the rest of your house by extreme weather or natural disasters. Spokane is a city that is average in many ways and extraordinary in others, so it behooves you to know what you're getting into before you move. To help you in your fact-finding expedition, we've created this short guide to the climate and geography of Spokane, Washington.

The city of Spokane is located near the eastern border of the state of Washington, and therefore shares less with the traditional Pacific Northwest (i.e. Seattle and Vancouver) than it does with neighboring state of Idaho. The Spokane River provides both hydroelectric power and moisture, but the mountains separating it from Seattle block the ever-present rains most people associate with Washington State. This means it's actually possible to have outdoor wedding photos taken here without ruining your Maggie Sottero bridal gown.

In addition to protecting Spokane from the rains of its western neighbors, the mountains also shield the city from the harshness of Canadian Arctic air masses. This means the winters aren't nearly as cold here as they are in neighboring Alberta; so you can stop looking at heating systems for your Motorola leather cases. The climate is classified as semi-arid continental, which means you can expect warm summers, snowy winters, rainy springs and crisp autumns where the deciduous leaves turn bright colors. The snowy winter means that you can expect to do some shoveling to get your car out of the driveway after a storm, but severe tornados, hurricanes, and earthquakes are extremely rare. The hottest it gets in summer is around 84 Fahrenheit/29 Celsius, and the coldest it gets in winter is about 20 Fahrenheit/-7 Celsius. Average annual precipitation, which includes rain and snow, is approximately 17 inches or 430 millimeters.

The city itself is largely situated on a steppe or plain called the Columbia Basin, but the rushing rapids of the Spokane River, the Cascade Mountains to the west, and the Rocky Mountain foothills to the east lend the city a rugged character. There are some deciduous trees in the area but the predominant ones are needled evergreens. There are several clean lakes and creeks throughout the city and more outside the limits. Winding roads and steep trails make their way through the mountains and offer plenty of opportunity to go camping and get some use out of those baby sleeping bags you bought for the kids.

This wildness of nature has been allowed to remain within the city limits to a large extent. Most streets seem to be lined with various species of tree and people's yards are green and often flowering. City parks range from wild nature preserves where you can spend the day hiking to carefully landscaped botanical gardens where you can go on your lunch break and talk precious metal funds with your financial advisor on your cell phone.