Winter Lake Breezes near the Great Salt Lake

Case studies of lake breezes during wintertime cold air pools in Utah's Salt Lake Valley are examined. While summer breezes originating from the Great Salt Lake are typically deeper, of longer duration, and have higher wind speeds than winter breezes, the rate of inland penetration and cross-frontal temperature differences can be higher during the winter. The characteristics of winter breezes and the forcing mechanisms controlling them (e.g., snow cover, background flow, vertical stability profile, clouds, lake temperature, lake sheltering, and drainage pooling) are more complex and variable than those evident in summer. During the afternoon in the Salt Lake Valley, these lake breezes can lead to elevated pollution levels due to the transport of fine particle pollutants from over the Great Salt Lake, decreased vertical mixing depth, and increased vertical stability.