Anonymous wrote:Salt Lake City is set to host the Winter Olympics in 2034. Good thing they aren't hosting this year because there is barely any snow there.
The NYT reported this week, "The Salt Lake City airport may set a new record this winter for low snowfall. So far, only one-tenth of an inch has fallen; the previous low, in 1933-34, was 14.3 inches."
"In Utah, where license plates boast of “the greatest snow on Earth,” November and December featured the warmest average temperatures in roughly 130 years of record keeping."
“It seems like a joke, but technically, the Florida Panhandle has seen more snowfall than Salt Lake City this year,” said Jon Meyer, assistant state climatologist at the Utah Climate Center."
There were similar concerns in Calgary. In March 1987, one year before the Games, only one and one-half inches of snow had fallen that winter. Also of concern were Chinook winds, a weather phenomenon unique to Calgary that could send temperatures skyrocketing. The local Olympic Organizing Committee chairman told a story at the time of his recollection when the mercury blasted from 29 degrees below zero to seventy-two above in a matter of hours. Relax, Calgary mayor (and future Alberta premier) Ralph Klein told
Sports Illustrated. They'll be snow, and everything will be fine, he promised.
There was, and it was fine. Actually, it was better than fine. The Calgary Games were a smashing success.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-03-16-sp-6212-story.html