Climate of Salt Lake City

The climate of Salt Lake City, Utah features cold and snowy winters, hot and dry summers, and modest to light seasonal rainfall. Lying in the Salt Lake Valley, the city is surrounded by mountains and the Great Salt Lake. Under the Köppen climate classification, Salt Lake City has either a Mediterranean climate (Csa) or dry-summer continental climate (Dsa) depending on which variant of the system is used, though it borders on a cold semi-arid climate (BSk) due to the city's relatively low precipitation.

The city has four distinct seasons: a cold, snowy winter; a hot, dry summer; and two relatively wet transition periods. The Pacific Ocean is the primary influence on the weather, contributing storms from about October to May, with spring being the wettest season. Snow falls frequently during the winter, contributed largely by the lake-effect from the Great Salt Lake. The only source of precipitation in the summer is monsoon moisture moving north from the Gulf of California. Summers are hot, frequently reaching above 100 °F (38 °C), while winters are cold and snowy. The Rocky Mountains to the east and north usually block powerful polar highs from affecting the state during the winter. Temperatures rarely fall below 0 °F (−18 °C), but frequently stay below freezing. Temperature inversions during winter can lead to thick overnight fog and daytime haze in the valley as cool air, moisture, and pollutants are trapped in the valley by surrounding mountains.