Great Salt Lake’s dust problem is exacerbated by hot and dry weather conditions. And right now, things are not looking good heading into the summer.
“The surface of Great Salt Lake is dry. Air temperatures are hot,” said Kevin Perry, professor of atmospheric studies at the University of Utah. “All we need now for significant dust events coming off Great Salt Lake are strong winds.”
Perry has kept a close eye on the parched lakebed for about a decade. If there are dry thunderstorms this summer, which northern Utah is no stranger to, it could trigger a “pretty significant dust season” into the fall.
The only thing that could tamp down the dust without human intervention is rain and getting more water into the Great Salt Lake — a tall order. Brian Steed, the Great Salt Lake commissioner, anticipates water levels will drop another 1.5 feet by the end of the year.
Read the rest of the story at kuer.org.
This article is published through the Great Salt Lake Collaborative, a solutions journalism initiative that partners news, education, and media organizations to help inform people about the plight of the Great Salt Lake — and what can be done to make a difference before it is too late.
