The Weather and Other Stories from the Zoo

Weather May 24, 2013

I think it is May, but this crazy weather we are having has me wondering. I know I have complained about the weather in Spokane before but I am going to continue to complain until we get our two months of warm temperatures.

When I lived in Wisconsin I got used to the change of the seasons. We had four months of each season during the year. I loved the variety in the weather patterns and it didn’t stay cold for very long. Here in Spokane the climate is much, much different.

Our weather pattern comes from the Northern Pacific and Canada. It is windy nearly every day of the year and the wind is cold and dry. I joke around saying that there are only three seasons in the Inland Northwest, the cold season, the much colder season and the hot season. The cold season lasts from mid March through June, last year it didn’t end until July. Then starting in June or July it is hot with temperatures in the 80’s and sometimes reaching 90 degrees. This hot season lasts until August or September so it isn’t very long. Then in October the cold northern winds take over and before you know it we have snow on the ground. This is the start of the long, long much colder season. For six months it is cold and we have snow on the ground.

Winters in Spokane might be longer than in Wisconsin where I grew up but fortunately it does not get as cold. In Wisconsin the temperatures in December and January sometimes hit below zero with cold wind chills. Here in Spokane the coldest that it has gotten since I’ve lived here is in the teens.

I can’t stand cold winter temperatures so I hibernate until it warms up to at least 70 degrees. I am hoping to come out of hibernation this weekend.

What is the weather like in your neck of the woods?