Spokane has always been in an area with four distinct seasons. Almost three quarters of the total precipitation falls between the beginning of October and the end of March. About half of the precipitation falls as snow.

With the recent changes in the global climate, Spokane's weather is somewhat unpredictable. With drastic changes in weather patterns, the lines between the four distinct seasons are blurring.

Spokane has a rich heritage of farming in the local area. The growing season is usually from mid-April to mid-October.

Summer is great for recreation with many mountains and lakes near by. Winter days are mostly cloudy or foggy with below freezing temperatures. The average snow fall is about 46 inches a year. The near by mountains are great for the skiing and snowboarding season.

Spokane has had some extreme weather-induced hardships in the past. In 1991, Spokane experienced a dry spell, when winds blowing up to 65 mph hit the area there was a major disaster. In all, 93 fires were burning covering over 36,500 acres, killing one civilian and destroying 110 homes and hundreds of vehicles. The combined fire perimeter was in excess of 100 miles.

In the early winter of 1996 Freezing rain quickly collected on trees and power lines and eventually became heavy enough to break tree limbs. Many of these tree limbs fell on power lines causing approximately 100,000 Spokane City and Spokane County residents to be without electricity for up to four days. The death toll rose to at least 10 in Washington and Oregon.