where are hot dry climates found in the united states
Climate of the United States
In winter , the Pacific Northwest ( especially coastal districts and other areas west , i.e. on the prevailing windward side , of the Olympic and Cascade mountain ranges ) , experiences a mostly overcast , wet and cool climate , but without severe cold like that found in the interior northern U.S. ( i.e. Minnesota / North Dakota ) . At lower elevations , winter precipitation falls mostly as rain . However , snow does occur even at the lowest elevations , primarily when Pacific moisture interacts with cold air intruding into the Pacific Northwest from western Canada ( i.e. Alberta and interior British Columbia ) . In Seattle , WA and Portland , OR , winter - season snowfall varies greatly from one winter season to the next ; in Seattle , the average winter - season snowfall is about 7 inches . In January 1950 ( also the coldest January and winter month in Seattle history ) , Seattle received an unprecedented monthly snowfall of over 57 inches . Summers in the Pacific Northwest are generally cool , especially along the coastline . The Great Basin and Columbia Plateau ( the Intermontane Plateaus ) are arid or semiarid regions , with high summer temperatures in the 90s to occasionally over 100 at lower elevations ( e.g. at Boise , ID ) , with annual precipitation averaging less than 15 inches ( 380 mm ) as a result of the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada and Cascades. ( citation needed ) . Both coastal and interior areas of Oregon and Washington , and southern Idaho , have a wet - winter , dry - summer precipitation pattern , but traveling eastward into Montana and Wyoming , this transitions progressively toward relatively drier winters and a May and eventually June precipitation maximum , the latter characteristic of the Northern Plains and much of the upper Midwest ( i.e. both Dakotas , Nebraska , Iowa and Minnesota ) .
In winter , the Pacific Northwest ( especially coastal districts and other areas west , i.e. on the prevailing windward side , of the Olympic and Cascade mountain ranges ) , experiences a mostly overcast , wet and cool climate , but without severe cold like that found in the interior northern U.S. ( i.e. Minnesota / North Dakota ) . At lower elevations , winter precipitation falls mostly as rain . However , snow does occur even at the lowest elevations , primarily when Pacific moisture interacts with cold air intruding into the Pacific Northwest from western Canada ( i.e. Alberta and interior British Columbia ) . In Seattle , WA and Portland , OR , winter - season snowfall varies greatly from one winter season to the next ; in Seattle , the average winter - season snowfall is about 7 inches . In January 1950 ( also the coldest January and winter month in Seattle history ) , Seattle received an unprecedented monthly snowfall of over 57 inches . Summers in the Pacific Northwest are generally cool , especially along the coastline . The Great Basin and Columbia Plateau ( the Intermontane Plateaus ) are arid or semiarid regions , with high summer temperatures in the 90s to occasionally over 100 at lower elevations ( e.g. at Boise , ID ) , with annual precipitation averaging less than 15 inches ( 380 mm ) as a result of the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada and Cascades. ( citation needed ) . Both coastal and interior areas of Oregon and Washington , and southern Idaho , have a wet - winter , dry - summer precipitation pattern , but traveling eastward into Montana and Wyoming , this transitions progressively toward relatively drier winters and a May and eventually June precipitation maximum , the latter characteristic of the Northern Plains and much of the upper Midwest ( i.e. both Dakotas , Nebraska , Iowa and Minnesota ) .