Abstract The spatial variability of 58 precipitation and temperature parameters from the “generation of weather elements for multiple applications” (GEM) weather generator has been investigated over a region of significant complexity in topography and climate. GEM parameters were derived for 80 climate stations in southern Idaho and southeastern Oregon. A technique was developed and used to determine the GEM parameters from high-elevation snowpack telemetry stations that report precipitation in nonstandard 2.5-mm (versus 0.25 mm) increments. Important dependencies were noted between most of these parameters and elevation (both domainwide and local), location, and other factors. The “parameter-elevation regressions on independent slopes model” (PRISM) spatial modeling system was used to develop approximate 4-km gridded data fields of each of these parameters. A feature was developed in PRISM that models temperatures above and below mean inversions differently. Examples of the spatial fields derived from th...