What the Rest of the Country Thinks About Snow in Idaho

There’s a vast swath of Idaho that sees very little snow. For that matter, it doesn’t see much rain either. But from the perspective around the country, we’re all huddled atop Borah Peak around a fire built precariously on a glacier. That would be like saying that every golf course in Florida is infested with alligators (I hear there are two gator-free but overrun with iguanas!)

Over the long holiday weekend, I took some pictures of the snow-covered Snake River Canyon. A place that’s often barren through much of the winter. I posted these to social media and emailed them to friends. Here are some reactions.

From my friend Jeannie in Florida:

I see – brrrrr!

From my Aunt Mary in Arizona:

No snow down here in AZ.

From my friend Lynn in Florida:

Oh my. I swore when I moved to Florida I never wanted to see snow again. Please keep it up north.

From my buddy Jake in Delaware:

CLIMATE CHANGE EVIDENCE.

Some people suggested I move to a different climate, but in some cases, the same people live in places where they see significant snowstorms. Or hurricanes and tornadoes!

Did you know that some communities along the Great Lakes can see 350 inches of lake effect over a winter? It’s not all on the ground at once. It falls, then often melts, and then the next storm rolls through. In between, life is pretty normal.

The same in Idaho. And that line people envision across a map where it snows or doesn’t, it’s a figment of the imagination.