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As noted by the Utah State Climatologist (Dr. Don Jensen): February precipitation was well above normal for southern Utah, with some locations reporting three times the monthly normal (for example, Blanding was 318%). Precipitation generally decreased toward the north, especially in the valleys. Mountain areas were about normal. Wendover on the Nevada-Utah border reported 4% of normal for February.
RECIP SNOW PRECIP PRECIP
STATION TOTAL TOTAL NORMAL PERCENT OF NORMAL
ALPINE 1.97 M 1.74 113 PCT OF NORMAL
ALTA 6.69 84.1 5.88 114 PCT OF NORMAL
ALTAMONT 0.91 8.2 0.64 142 PCT OF NORMAL
ALTON 2.93 27.1 1.90 154 PCT OF NORMAL
BLANDING 3.53 10.0 1.11 318 PCT OF NORMAL
BOULDER 1.66 14.0 0.91 182 PCT OF NORMAL
BOUNTIFUL 1.95 19.0 2.30 85 PCT OF NORMAL
BOUNTIFUL-VAL VERDA 1.43 7.5 1.84 78 PCT OF NORMAL
BRIAN HEAD 3.90 66.0 4.80 81 PCT OF NORMAL
BRIGHAM CITY 0.80 6.5 1.45 55 PCT OF NORMAL
CAPITOL REEF 1.20 4.0 0.38 316 PCT OF NORMAL
CASTLE DALE 0.37 2.0
CEDAR CITY 1.87 21.0 1.29 145 PCT OF NORMAL
CEDAR CITY AIRPORT 1.38 M 0.97 142 PCT OF NORMAL
CENTERVILLE 1.78 13.5
CIRCLEVILLE 0.91 M 0.54 169 PCT OF NORMAL
CITY CREEK CANYON 1.84 18.0 2.61 70 PCT OF NORMAL
COALVILLE 1.43 14.0 1.22 117 PCT OF NORMAL
COTTONWOOD 1.51 13.2 1.82 89 PCT OF NORMAL
COTTONWOOD WEIR 2.02 20.0 2.19 92 PCT OF NORMAL
DEER CREEK DAM 1.30 14.5 2.86 45 PCT OF NORMAL
DELTA 0.64 6.0 0.65 98 PCT OF NORMAL
DUCHESNE 0.82 11.0 0.57 144 PCT OF NORMAL
EAST LAYTON 2.07 17.6
ECHO DAM 1.01 18.0 1.03 98 PCT OF NORMAL
ESCALANTE 1.52 M 0.79 192 PCT OF NORMAL
FARMINGTON 1.20 M 2.08 58 PCT OF NORMAL
FILLMORE 2.23 18.5 1.39 160 PCT OF NORMAL
GREEN RIVER 0.82 TRACE 0.43 191 PCT OF NORMAL
HANKSVILLE 0.73 M 0.25 292 PCT OF NORMAL
HEBER CITY 0.92 12.5 1.71 54 PCT OF NORMAL
HOLLADAY 1.43 12.0 1.75 82 PCT OF NORMAL
HUNTSVILLE 1.48 10.5 2.10 70 PCT OF NORMAL
HURRICANE 2.36
KAMAS 1.49 26.0 1.45 103 PCT OF NORMAL
KANAB 4.77 M 1.73 276 PCT OF NORMAL
LAKETOWN 1.48 28.0 0.91 163 PCT OF NORMAL
LAYTON 1.27 8.4
LOGAN KVNU 1.03 10.0 1.42 73 PCT OF NORMAL
LOGAN USU 1.61 14.5 1.61 100 PCT OF NORMAL
MANTI 1.12 8.5 1.07 105 PCT OF NORMAL
MILFORD 1.08 15.0 0.77 140 PCT OF NORMAL
MORONI 1.22 8.5 0.90 136 PCT OF NORMAL
MOUNTAIN DELL DAM 1.75 M 1.96 89 PCT OF NORMAL
NEOLA 1.12 10.5 0.54 207 PCT OF NORMAL
NEPHI 1.53 19.2 1.36 113 PCT OF NORMAL
NORTH SLC 1.70 12.0
OGDEN 0.97 9.0 2.13 46 PCT OF NORMAL
OGDEN NE BENCH 1.42 9.0
OREM 1.06 M 1.91 55 PCT OF NORMAL
PLEASANT GROVE 1.61 15.5 1.76 91 PCT OF NORMAL
PROVO BYU 1.22 10.8 1.93 63 PCT OF NORMAL
RANDOLPH 1.63 15.2 0.68 240 PCT OF NORMAL
RICHMOND 1.98 14.0 1.67 119 PCT OF NORMAL
ROOSEVELT 0.68 M 0.46 148 PCT OF NORMAL
ST. GEORGE 2.09 1.10 190 PCT OF NORMAL
SALT LAKE AIRPORT 1.06 9.0 1.33 80 PCT OF NORMAL
SLC EAST BENCH 1.45 12.0 2.51 58 PCT OF NORMAL
SANDY 1.43 11.6
SILVER LAKE BRIGHTON 4.15 57.0 4.88 85 PCT OF NORMAL
SNOWBIRD 5.74 66.0 6.50 88 PCT OF NORMAL
SNYDERVILLE 1.78 29.0
SOUTH OGDEN 1.85 14.5
SPANISH FORK 2.07 13.5 2.10 99 PCT OF NORMAL
SPRINGVILLE 1.44 14.0 1.97 73 PCT OF NORMAL
SPRUCES CAMPGROUND 3.31 50.5
STANSBURY PARK 1.33 13.0
TOOELE 1.58 13.5 1.61 98 PCT OF NORMAL
UPPER MILLCREEK 1.54 15.1
WANSHIP DAM 1.81 15.0 1.08 168 PCT OF NORMAL
WENDOVER 0.01 M 0.26 4 PCT OF NORMAL
ZION PARK 3.48 2.0 1.60 218 PCT OF NORMAL
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Paleoclimatic Perspective
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The Great Salt Lake, in northwestern Utah, is the largest body of water without an outlet, in the Western Hemisphere. The main source of water is inflow primarily from three rivers in the mountains east of the lake. The main mechanism of water loss is evaporation. Thus, the rise and fall of the lake are a function of the integration of regional hydroclimatic processes, and are a reflection of regional climate. The graph to the right shows fluctuations in lake levels from 1847 to the present. The highest levels occurred in 1873 (4211.6 feet [1284 m]), 1986, and again in 1987 (levels reached 4211.85 feet [1284 m] in both 1986 and 1987). The lowest lake level occurred in 1963 (4191.35 feet [1278 m]).
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The high levels in the early 1870s predate reliable instrumental records, but tree-ring reconstructions of drought suggest that wet years from 1866-1869 (see maps below) were responsible (http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/paleo/pdsiyear.html). The high stand in the 1980's corresponds to the wettest period on record (since 1895) for Utah Division 3 (see graph to left) and the low lake levels in the 1930s and 1960s reflect periods of drought. Recent droughts in the late 1980s and 2000 to present are also indicated by lower levels, but relative severity has been tempered by the extreme high levels in the 1980s.
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For more information about the Great Salt Lake see http://www.water.utah.gov/construction/gsl/index.htm, and for data, see http://w3dutslc.wr.usgs.gov/infores/gsl.intro.html
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U.S. Regional Drought /
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Last Updated Friday, 18-Nov-2005 14:11:54 EST by Richard.Heim@noaa.gov
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