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The Weather Outside is Delightful in Sandpoint and on Schweitzer Mountain

By
Services for Real Estate Pros

When Tom Chasse and Jennifer Ekstrom, CEO and Communications manager respectively for Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort appeared on my show, North Idaho Arts and Adventure, Tuesday, December 16, 2008, we talked about everything but the weather. So, here is a remedy. Schweitzer is coming off two record seasons, being ranked in Ski Magazine's Top 25 Ski Resorts and #3 for Tree Skiing last year, and, with Sandpoint, in AskMen's Top 10 Resort Towns this spring. While we have lots of great stuff up here in North Idaho, one of our best facets is our weather.

Weather in Sandpoint is a gentle friend, made mild by the greenhouse effect that evaporation from massive Lake Pend Oreille proffers. In Florida, when the Army Corps of Engineers straightened one meandering waterway, the cover that had kept the citrus industry warm for generations ceased to function, forcing the industry farther south due to freezes now occurring where the waters once flowed freely. In Sandpoint, Hope, and Sagle, Idaho, the 148 square mile Lake Pend Oreille, with 111 miles of shoreline, creates what locals call the 'banana belt,' often keeping temperatures much warmer than surrounding areas. We do have a good amount of rain, but temperatures during summer are generally mild. For about a month of the year, temps rage above 100°, and in recent years, can hit 105° or even 107°.

While winter 2007-2008 dumped record flakes, normally Sandpoint and North Idaho gets 71 inches in the valleys of snowfall. Some reports state that Annual snowfall on Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort is 300 inches, though others claim roughly 21 to 25 feet. Annual precipitation in Sandpoint is 31-35 inches, depending on which refererence is used. For our purposes, we have listed some irrefutable tables below, and links back to their sites. Temperatures are mostly near 32°, though this can mean snow melting into ice and freezing overnight some seasons.

The general consensus is that weather is a pleasure in North Idaho. Summers are gentle and mild, with occasional rainfall and temperatures near 80°, and winter has great snowfall with temperatures being considerably warmer than other western states. This makes Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort a charmer, since we typically always have snow, but with much more bearable cold. This, coupled with the fantastic views of Lake Pend Oreille, and being named to Ski Magazine's Top 25 Ski Resorts has made our area a favorite destination.

Taking the weather together with the incredible scenery, wildlife, friendly small town atmosphere, and great lake life, has made the national press take notice. Sandpoint has been touted as the 'West's Best Small Town' in Sunset Magazine, one of 'America's Best Small Towns' in Outsider, and several write ups as one of America's Top Resort Towns.

We love all of our four seasons. Wouldn't you like to live here?

To see our specific forecast and graphs on our weather go to http://sandpointid.net/Sandpoint-Weather.html

If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at any time.

Gary Lirette
Realtor, Tomlinson Sandpoint Sotheby's International Realty
Host of North Idaho Business & North Idaho Arts & Adventure on KSPT and KBFI
208-610-1384
garyplirette@nctv.com

To learn more about North Idaho, Sandpoint, and Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort, visit the community websites:

www.SandpointID.net

www.SkiSchweitzer.net

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