Weather Archives - Wild About Utah

May 26, 2025May 25, 2025

Climate Data Recording

USU Climate Measurement Instrument Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer — USU Climate Measurement Instrument
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer

Last week while walking across the Utah State University campus, I rounded the Northeast corner of the University Inn and suddenly found myself face to face with a giant stick figure made of steel tubing. Painted a gleaming white, it looked like an elegant butler standing stiffly at attention. Planted firming on three sturdy legs, its rectangular body soared up 12 feet, and two of its outstretched arms seemed to be holding a bowl in one hand and a ball in the other.

Then I noticed the interactive display pedestal nearby. I discovered my “butler” was actually holding a rain gauge and an air temperature sensor. In fact, there were almost 30 sensors attached to the frame. Tapping on each picture of the sensor, I could see the exact measurement it was making at the moment. More tapping and I could look back as far as 500 days ago.

This magnificent machine was recording data so smoothly that I had to laugh when I remembered how in the early days of climate monitoring it wasn’t so easy.

In the 1980’s, after moving to Cache Valley, I was getting used to the cold temperatures and wondering how cold could it get. The engineers at Campbell Scientific, including my husband Art, had just developed a new temperature and wind sensor that could record its measurements into a box. The box would then send a radio signal to a relay station on top of Mt Logan, and then on to the base computer in Logan. They installed the sensor at Peter Sinks, near the summit overlooking Bear Lake. Then they sat down in front of the base computer to wait. They watched the temp drop, -55, -65. Then a tiny gust of air would blow by and the temperature would rise. Finally, they went to bed. But the datalogger kept working. In the morning, they looked at the data sheet – and there it was in black and white: -69.3 degrees Fahrenheit! In the early morning Feb 1, 1985, a record was set for the coldest temp ever recorded in Utah that still stands today.

But my favorite memory from the early days is the farm kid who bought one of the first Campbell Scientific dataloggers, the CR10. Art and I were on a road trip when he realized we were close by. We rang the doorbell. His mother told us to go upstairs. There was the young kid sitting on his bed. The CR10 was on the floor. He showed us how the datalogger was recording the level of oxygen in the water in his nearby catfish pond. When the Oxygen level dropped to a dangerous low, the CR10 would turn on a giant eggbeater-like machine that would throw the pond water high into the air. When the water fell down, it carried Oxygen with it into the pond. The kid was all smiles. Gone were the days when he had to get up every night at 3 am, march through heavy mud, check his Oxygen sensor, and manually turn on the eggbeater.

The kid pointed to the CR10 on the floor.

“Piece of your brain in there?” he asked Art.

“Yes,” answered Art, “And a piece of my heart.”

This is Mary Heers and I’m Wild About Utah.

Credits:
Photos: Courtesy and Copyright Mary Heers,
Featured Audio: Courtesy & © Anderson, Howe and Wakeman
Text: Mary Heers, https://cca.usu.edu/files/awards/art-and-mary-heers-citation.pdf
Additional Reading: Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading

Wild About Utah, Mary Heers’ Wild About Utah Postings

Peter Sinks Temperature Monitoring, Utah Climate Center at Utah State University, https://climate.usu.edu/PeterSinks/

Tonks, Sara, Peter Sinks, UT, Was Over 50 Degrees Below Zero Wednesday Morning. Here’s Why That’s Both Unusual And Normal, Weather News, The Weather Channel, February 13, 2025, https://weather.com/news/weather/news/2025-02-13-temperature-sinks-cold-explained-geography

Campbell Scientific, Inc., https://www.campbellsci.com/
Company History, https://www.campbellsci.com/history

Franchi, John, Man reflects on recording all-time Utah low temperature in 1985, Fox 13 News, Scripps Media, Inc., February 03, 2023, https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/man-reflects-on-recording-all-time-utah-low-temperature-in-1985

Davis, Jim, Where is the COOLEST Spot in Utah?, Survey Notes, v. 45 no. 3, September 2013, Utah Geological Service, Utah Department of Natural Resources, https://geology.utah.gov/map-pub/survey-notes/glad-you-asked/coolest-spot-in-utah/

March 20, 2023September 11, 2023

Atmospheric Rivers

I love rivers, especially atmospheric rivers, thanks Hawaii! Poor California. Will it ever end! As atmospheric rivers continue to destroy California, our mountains get the leftovers, which I’ve enjoyed immensely as an avid Nordic skier.

Having attended the USU Spring Runoff Conference, and the Northern Utah Water conference last week, driving streets which have become snow tunnels, an epic year of snowfall is all too apparent, possibly eclipsing the ‘011 epic year.

The Great Salt Lake welcomes every drop, while our cities brace for potential floods, a repeat of ’83 when Salt Lake City’s State Street became a favorite kayak route and trout fishery! Soil moisture is being replenished which is far more favorable to aquafer recharge and agriculture. Some reservoirs are even releasing water to prevent catastrophic overflow. We find ourselves filling sandbags anticipating the worst.

Atmospheric rivers, “giant conveyor belts of water in the sky”, cause the moisture-rich “Pineapple Express” storm systems that come from the Pacific Ocean, especially Hawaii, several times annually and are more common in the winter. From October 2018 to spring 2019, there were 47 atmospheric rivers, 12 of which were rated strong or extreme, in Washington, Oregon and California. In some parts of the world, changes in atmospheric humidity and heat caused by climate change are expected to increase the intensity and frequency of extreme weather and flood events caused by atmospheric rivers. This is expected to be especially prominent in the Western United States and Canada.

Atmospheric rivers have a central role in the global water cycle. On any given day, atmospheric rivers account for over 90% of the north-south water vapor transport. They are a major factor in extreme precipitation events that cause severe flooding in many mid-latitude, westerly coastal regions of the world. Equally, the absence of atmospheric rivers has been linked to the occurrence of droughts in several parts of the world.

Our Great Salt Lake has risen about 1 1/2 feet since it’s 2022 historic low. The LDS church is donating 20 thousand acre feet, about 0.3 % of what’s needed. They are hoping others will follow suite. Another 7 million acre feet of water is needed to create the once thriving salt lake ecosystem according to The Great Salt Lake Strike Team, a combination of two Utah research universities and three Utah agencies. They suggest water donations are one of the more cost-effective and efficient solutions for getting water back into the lake. Donations could help reduce this significant deficit, since human consumption accounts for about two-thirds of the lake’s decline.

Here in Cache Valley, our high school students will be competing with each other in “Saving the Great Salt Lake” to see which school can most effectively engage their schools and communities in reducing water consumption. Cash prizes will be awarded to all participating schools, along with a tree to plant on their school grounds or another public space. Contact jackisblue49@yahoo.com for further information.

This is Jack Greene for Bridgerland Audubon, and you guessed it-I’m wild about Utah and it’s Great Salty Lake!

Credits:
Ponderosa Pine Pictures: Courtesy Pixabay, David Mark, Contributor https://www.pixabay.com/
Audio: Courtesy & © Friend Weller, https://npr.org/ and Kevin Colver, https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections
Text: Jack Greene, Bridgerland Audubon, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/
Additional Reading: Lyle W Bingham, Webmaster, and Jack Greene, Author, Bridgerland Audubon, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading:

Jack Greene’s Postings on Wild About Utah, https://wildaboututah.org/author/jack/

Greene, Jack, The Great Salt Lake, Wild About Utah, April 11, 2016, https://wildaboututah.org/great-salt-lake/

Greene, Jack. 2020. I Love Snow. Wild About Utah, https://wildaboututah.org/i-love-snow/

Larese-Casanova, Mark. 2014. Utah’s Rich Skiing History. Wild About Utah, https://wildaboututah.org/utahs-rich-skiing-history/

Liberatore, Andrea. 2011. Snowflakes. Wild About Utah, https://wildaboututah.org/snowflakes/

Strand, Holly. 2009. A Utah Skier’s Snow Lexicon. Wild About Utah, https://wildaboututah.org/a-utah-skiers-snow-lexicon/

August 21, 2014July 18, 2020

Wind and Sagebrush

Hi, I’m Holly Strand of the Quinney College of Natural Resources at Utah State University.

By late summer, most of Utah’s flowering plants have fizzled out for the year—those that remain are looking pretty spent. But not true for the sagebrush. It’s show time for over 20 types of sagebrush of the Intermountain West.

Like grasses and conifers, sagebrush plants are pollinated by the wind. They have no need for the specialized traits designed to attract live pollinators. Instead, they have evolved other strategies to survive and multiply.

For instance, wind-pollinated plants don’t need showy, colorful petals to attract insects or birds. The wind is going to do its job anyway regardless of visual cues. Thus sagebrush flowers are very small and nondescript. In fact, when passing by flowering sagebrush you might not even notice that it’s in bloom. Look for long spikes with clusters of tiny flower heads. The pale yellow flowers are concealed by petal-like bracts, which are the very same color as the rest of the plant.

While the flowers of sagebrush lack in beauty, they make up in quantity. A single flowering stem of the most common sagebrush—known simply as big sagebrush–can hold hundreds of flower heads that produce a massive amount of pollen. Most wind-blown pollen grains won’t end up anywhere near the female part of another plant. So to make up for this risky method of fertilization, individual plants must produce greater volumes of pollen. In contrast, plants with live pollinators get door to door service during fertilization. Far less pollen is needed to get the same job done.

Scent is another way for plants to attract live pollinators. Species pollinated by bees and flies have sweet scents, whereas those pollinated by beetles have strong musty, spicy, or fruity odors. However, the iconic western scent of the sagebrush has absolutely nothing to do with pollination. Instead, the pungent aroma of the sagebrush is a by-product of certain chemicals produced in the leaves. These chemicals evolved to repel animals and to reduce the odds of being eaten or grazed.

The chemicals—bitter terpenes, camphors and other secondary compounds–—peak in early spring. But as the late-summer flowering period approaches, the chemicals start to break down. By winter, browsers like deer and elk can nibble on the protein-rich seed heads without getting a nasty aftertaste.

Thanks to botanist Leila Shultz for sharing her knowledge of sagebrush. For a link to the online version of Leila’s book Pocket Guide to Sagebrush, go to www.wildaboututah.org
If you’d like a hard copy of this Pocket Guide, send an email to wildaboututah@gmail.com We have 5 copies to give away to listeners from across the state.

For Wild About Utah and the Quinney College of Natural Resources, I’m Holly Strand.

NOTE: The copies are gone. You can view the book as a .pdf here or check here for the next printing from https://www.sagestep.org/pubs/brushguide.html.

Credits:

Photo Courtesy & Copyright 2007 Dr. Leila Shultz
Text: Holly Strand, Quinney College of Natural Resources at Utah State University

Additional Reading:

Dudareva, Natalia. 2005. Why do flowers have scents? Scientific American April 18. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-flowers-have-scent/

Shultz, Leila. 2012. Pocket Guide to Sagebrush. PRBO Conservation Science. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/sagestep_reports/20/
As pdf: https://rdjzr2agvvkijm6n3b66365n-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/sagebrush_pock_guide_reduced.pdf

Shultz, L. M. 2006. The Genus Artemisia (Asteraceae: Anthemideae). In The Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19: Asterales, pp. 503–534. Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. Oxford University Press. New York and Oxford.

USDA, NRCS. 2012. The PLANTS Database, National Plant Data Team, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS): https://www.plants.usda.gov

VanBuren, R., J. C. Cooper, L. M. Shultz and K. T. Harper. 2011. Woody Plants of Utah. Utah State University Press & Univ. Colorado. 513 pp. https://upcolorado.com/utah-state-university-press/item/2323-woody-plants-of-utah

December 21, 2011July 18, 2020

Utah’s Changing Climate and Weather

Hi, this is Mark Larese-Casanova from the Utah Master Naturalist Program at Utah State University Extension.Utah’s Changing Climate and Weather

When I’m standing in line at the post office on a cold, snowy day, I inevitably hear someone make a sarcastic comment about global warming. The reality is, weather and climate are two distinctly different measures. Weather is the combination of current atmospheric conditions, such as temperature, humidity, precipitation, and wind. It changes from day to day, sometimes from minute to minute. It affects our choices of clothing each day, or whether we carry an umbrella.

Climate, however, is a prediction of future weather conditions based on data that have been collected during at least the past few decades. Climate can change as well, but this occurs more slowly over greater time scales. Climate determines which plants we can grow and how much we insulate our homes.

During the last 500 million years, the earth has experienced several different climates from very warm periods to ice ages. Between about one hundred thousand to ten thousand years ago, the planet was impacted by an Ice Age where 30% of the earth was covered by ice extending from the poles. During part of this time, much of Utah was covered by Lake Bonneville, and was home to several now-extinct mammals, such as mammoths, saber-toothed cats, and ground-sloths.

The modern era has also seen climatic changes. Ocean sediments and polar ice core data show that from 900-1300 A.D., the earth’s climate was warmer than normal. However, between about 1300-1900 A.D., the earth experienced a little ice age. Scientists believe this was caused by a combination of three major, natural events- less solar radiation reaching Earth, five major volcanic eruptions, and the disruption of ocean circulation due to melting polar ice caps.

Even though Utah has the second driest climate in the country, annual precipitation has actually increased 14% since the late 1800’s. Sounds great, right? Well, during this same time period, the average temperature has increased three degrees Fahrenheit. This means that more of Utah’s precipitation is falling as rain rather than snow. Because water is released from snowpack at a slower rate, we are provided with water throughout the year. If more of this water comes from rain, it could result in increased stream flow in winter and spring, but decreased stream flow in summer and fall. Furthermore, it is predicted that Utah will be faced with a reduction in snowpack upwards of 50% by the year 2085.

While those of us who enjoy winter sports might experience a gradually shortening ski season, less snowpack is likely to affect us all throughout the year. With Utah’s population expected to double around the year 2050, we’ll need to find creative solutions to an increased demand on water resources.

For Wild About Utah, I’m Mark Larese-Casanova.

Credits:
Utah’s Changing Climate and Weather
Images:
Text: Mark Larese-Casanova, Utah Master Naturalist Program at Utah State University Extension.
Utah’s Changing Climate and Weather
Additional Reading:

Climate Change and Utah. 1998. US Environmental Protection Agency. EPA 236-F-98-007z. Available at: https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi?Dockey=40000PTI.PDF

Hotter Utah- Not All Bad? 2007. Deseret News. March 18, 2007. Available at: https://www.deseretnews.com/article/660204298/Hotter-Utah–not-all-bad.html

Global Warming: What about Water? 2006. Salt Lake Tribune. October 30, 2006. Available at: https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=4149629&itype=NGPSID

Lindsey, Rebecca and Dahlman, LuAnn, Climate Change: Global Temperature, Climate.gov, NOAA,

Steenburgh, Jim, Wasatch Weather Weenies https://wasatchweatherweenies.blogspot.com/

Weatern Regional Headquarters, National Weather Service, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA) https://www.weather.gov/wrh/