SOUTH JORDAN, Utah – You know what they say about yellow snow, but what about brown snow falling from the sky? People across the entire west side of the Salt Lake Valley and around Tooele Valley experienced a strange phenomenon on Friday as ‘dirty’ snow rained from nowhere.
But do not worry, it’s not dangerous, even if you say ‘ew’ in your head when you find out what it really is.
PHOTO GALLERY: Brown snow in Utah
FOX 13 viewers sent photos of the yellow to light brown snow from places like Tooele, to Magna to the South Jordan to Eagle Mountain.
“I thought the sun might be shining and trying to shine strangely,” said Dave Olsen, who took a video of yellow snow in his garden in Copperton.
But no, it was not the sun.
Jill Taylor took a video of her hands through the very pure white powder.
“How does it snow white, does it clear snow – and then leave a layer of brown on it?” she asked.
Kaylene Yeates in Magna thought her car was just dirty, but then realized that the brown snow was all around her.
“I was like, ‘Is the air dirty?’ Is it disgusting? What is happening? ‘, She tells.
From mysterious brown snow falling from the sky … to power flickering across northern Utah all night … does anyone else feel it should be Friday the 13th? Because it definitely does not feel like an average Friday the 5th. (VAvrielle Hauser) #utwx @ jakkals13 pic.twitter.com/fwsY9nqqxf
– Lauren Steinbrecher (@LaurenSnews) 6 February 2021
“When snow gets a yellow or brownish color, it is usually the result of the snow picking up pollutants as it falls through the atmosphere,” explained national meteorologist Linda Chang.
But do not be afraid of the word ‘pollutants’. In Friday’s case, Chang explains, they believe that what has been snowed off is much more organic.
“In today’s case, we believe it’s caused by dirt being picked up in northwestern Utah,” she said. “We are seeing fairly strong northwest winds, with gusts of more than 40 miles per hour across the northwestern deserts and salt plains.”
Chang described how an unusually dry winter in Utah left the soil in the Western Desert and salt flats less frozen and compact than in a normal winter.
When the wind picked up on Friday, so did the dirt and dust. It blew east and mingled with the storm that swept over the Wasatchfront.
“It collects in the snow, and if it falls, the snow will get a brownish or yellow color,” Chang said.
You know what they say about yellow snow … but this snow is good to play in! The @NWSSaltLakeCity break it down like this: 40 km / h wind + dry winter = western desert / salt plain dirt / dust blowing east. Dirty + Wasatch leading snowstorm = brown / yellow snow. #utwx @ jakkals13 (MAmanda Ray) pic.twitter.com/e5bNznedbE
– Lauren Steinbrecher (@LaurenSnews) 6 February 2021
A strange event, but Chang said it was not dangerous.
It just means that the West Desert-dirty lawns left at the front and cars were covered with a strange snow / mud mixture.
So, go ahead and make those snow angels. Dig in and make a snowman. You may need to wash off some mud later.
We had reports of brown snow over the SL Valley. Usually caused by pollutants picked up by the snow as it falls. In this case, dirt may have shot up in the air due to the strong winds to our W and NW and transport here. #utwx
NWS Salt Lake City (@NWSSaltLakeCity) 6 February 2021