Interesting Info:

How weather affects the watershed

Utah experiences all four seasons, fall, winter, spring, and summer and is the 2nd driest State in the U.S. In the Salt Lake Valley, we receive an average of 15.7 inches of precipitation each year, but in the mountains, we can receive as much as 54 inches per year.

In general three types of weather patterns cause precipitation over the Salt Lake City Watershed. This includes frontal systems originating in the Pacific Ocean, tropical storms from the southwest, and summer thunderstorms. The frontal storms that travel across the West from the Pacific Ocean usually produce the beautiful and light Utah "powder" snow that we ski on. The snowpack accumulates and is stored in the mountains through the winter. During the springtime, melting snow provides water for the plants, animals, and for the Salt Lake Valley too!

Three Types of Weather cause precipitation over Salt Lake:

1. Frontal Systems from the Pacific
2. Tropical Storms from the Southwest
3. Summer Thundershowers

Lake Effect

Many people talk about the "Lake Effect" when they discuss the snowstorms in Salt Lake. It is true that the large water body of the Great Salt Lake influences the storms in our area. In the winter the lake is warmer than the air above it, which increases the moisture in the air, creating instability in the thermal layers in the atmosphere and causes seeding of salt crystals. The combination of these elements is thought to produce more snowfall on the downwind side of the lake.