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<br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />- <br /> <br />Table 1. Annual Nonnal Precipitation by Climatic Division <br /> <br /> Utah Climatic Divisions <br />Years Western Dixie North South North Uinta South <br />Used Central Central Mtns Basin East <br /> (01) (02) (03) (04) (05) (06) (07) <br />1931- 8.77 11.71 16.06 12.23 18.61 7.90 8.78 <br />80 <br />1931- 8.92 11.70 15.67 12.06 18.54 7.84 8.55 <br />60 <br />1941- 8.49 10.95 16.33 12.23 19.91 8.05 8.75 <br />70 <br />1951- 8.00 11.25 15.95 11.96 18.87 7.83 8.81 <br />80 <br /> <br />Climatology of Storms in Utah <br /> <br />General <br /> <br />The oceans are the primary source of moisture for the atmosphere, but it is also furnished by lakes, <br />rivers, swamps, moist soil, snow, ice fields and vegetation. Moisture is introrluced into the <br />atmosphere as water vapor, and may be then carried great distances by winds before it is removed <br />as liquid or solid precipitation. <br /> <br /> <br />There is a limit to the amount of water vapor the air can hold at a given temperature. When that <br />limit is reached the air is said to be "saturated." The higher the air temperature, the more water <br />vapor it can hold. For every 20 degree Fahrenheit increase in temperature, the capacity of a volume <br />of air to hold water is doubled. On the other hand, unsaturated air containing a given amount of <br />water vapor will become saturated if the temperature decreases sufficiently. Further cooling forces <br />some of the water vapor to condense as fog, cloud or precipitation. <br /> <br />In general, clouds and precipitation result from lifting processes. As moist air is lifted by topography, <br />storm fronts or large low pressure areas, clouds and precipitation result. Subsidence, or the <br />downward movement of air, results in cloud dissipation. When air moves down the lee side of <br />mountain barriers or subsides in large high pressure air masses, clouds and precipitation dissipate. <br /> <br />The Effects of Topography <br /> <br />Mountains are barriers to the horizontal movement of air masses and consequently lifting occurs <br />when air approaches a mountain range. We refer to this lifting as orographic lifting and the <br />precipitation that results, as orographic precipitation. <br /> <br />6 <br />