Iide has a Humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa) with large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters.

[3] In the winter season, snow cover may exceed 2 meters even in the center of town due to the monsoon from the Sea of Japan.

Per Japanese census data,[5] the population of Iide peaked in the 1950s, and is now considerably less than what it was a century ago.

After the start of the Meiji period, most of the area of Iide became part of Nishiokitama District, Yamagata Prefecture, with the establishment of the modern municipalities system.

It was elevated to town status on September 1, 1958 after merging with the village of Nakatsugawa from Minamiokitama District.