 Utah's snow is known as "The Greatest Snow on Earth". It even says so on our license plates. Skiiers from near and far come in droves every year to play on our unique, light, fluffy "powder."
But what makes Utah 's snow so great?
Several environmental factors come together to produce this frosty wonder. One is the low relative humidity of the area, which makes any snow that falls have less moisture, thus being more "fluffy."
Another factor has to do with the geography of the West.
The storms that hit Utah are formed out over the Pacific Ocean and then, heavy with precipatation, they travel across the continent, not bumping into any significant barriers until they reach the 150 mile long Wasatch Range, a sub-range of the Rockies, with peaks up to around 12,000 feet.
The Great Salt Lake is relatively shallow (approximately 33 feet deep) with a large surface area (approximately 1,600 square miles) and heats up faster than other deeper lakes. When cold winds blow over the warmer water, the clouds passing overhead suck up the water vapors and produce even more precipitation, which falls in the mountains as snow.
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