Question: Does Spokane have great...clouds?

A number of friends who've moved to Spokane and the Inland Northwest over the years often comment on something we've really never pondered ourselves:  That we have great clouds.  At first read it sounds a little odd.  Is there really something special about the structure of our cumulous friends floating over our region?  Regardless of your opinion, this 40 second time lapse video of the sky in an outlying part of Spokane makes us think recent immigrants here might be onto something.

Comments

[Kate]

Yes. I miss them.

[Mariah McKay]

The only thing I can compare to is Portland, and yes, their clouds suck compared to ours!

[Jim]

My theory for what it's worth- The moisture (cloud cover) breaks up from the west as it passes through the Cascades, then starts to gather again in our region as it is slowed down by the western most foothills of the Rockies known as the Bitteroot Mountains just east of Liberty Lake. This creates these great scattered clouds during the warm months. Also part of my theory is that this doesn't work in the winter and thus we have snowfalls that pale only to that of Saltese, Montana.

[Silent Bahb]

As a semi-recent immigrant, I can tell you that the clouds here are exceptional, second only to the towering thunderstorms we would see in the summer when I lived in the southwest. And you're mostly right, Jim. A lot of our interesting cloud cover comes from the destabilizing effect of the Cascades and the general lifting that occurs as the air mass reaches the Bitterroot Mountains (and the general rise in elevation before then). The only additional factor is the lifting created by heat rising from the bare plains to our west that begins to lift the air mass prior to it hitting the Bitteroots. As an old weather-geek, I'm very happy with the clouds here and love looking out my window to see the new shapes each day.

[D Huygens]

So true. Compared to the suffocating gray blanket in my adopted Pugetopolis, my hometown GEG's clouds are a cotton-candy-like dream. I breathe deeply the fresh air of freedom every time I head east over the pass and the cloud cover breaks up around Easton.

[Alfred Bloom]

Don't forget about our sunsets!

[Bart Mihailovich]

The clouds are spectacular - specifically the cirrus clouds, though they typically signal precipitation, they are gorgeous!
As for the sunsets - if you get a chance, head out to Cheney for a sunset, one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen!!

[rayla]

there are great clouds out here. We moved recently from Seattle to Liberty Lake and the clouds and scenery are really wonderful.

[Brian Sayrs]

I agree that the clouds are nice here, but what I'm really doing here is to say, "Welcome to Liberty Lake, Rayla!"

So...um...welcome to Liberty Lake, Rayla!

[Kate]

Rayla, I grew up in Liberty Lake, and I can definitely confirm that it's a rad place to be. Hope you're enjoying the movies and concerts at Pavilion Park, the Farmers Market, and the pretty clouds!