Where's Rocky?
Sandpoint late winter
Sandpoint Windbag Marina
Schweitzer Mountain entrance
View of Sandpoint from Schweitzer

Thanks to City-Data.com for the above graphs

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?