From Deseret News archives:
June 28 historically Salt Lake's driest day
June 28 dry, dry, dry — probably won't see rain even this year
Are you a betting person who likes to play the odds? Well, the odds are in your favor if you bet there will be no precipitation this Sunday.
Even though June 2009 sprang a leak and had rain on a record number of days, June 28 in any year is the day least likely for Salt Lake City to see water falling in any form.
That is according to long-term statistics compiled by the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City. The service says there's only a 2.7 percent chance of any rain for that day based on long-term averages at the Salt Lake City International Airport.
It's a statistical thing — simply a day when if you like to play the odds, it should be the driest day of the year, because it only rains on that day approximately three of the years in a century span.
What's the NWS forecast for June 28 this year? Sunny, with a high near 88.
June 28 is significantly the year's driest day because the runner-up day, July 2, has a 6.7 percent — more than double — chance of rain.
Independence Day — July 4 — is down the list too, with a 10.8 percent chance of moisture.
Dan Pope, KSL meteorologist, said the last two weeks in June and the first two weeks in July are historically Salt Lake's driest period of the year.
With rain at the Salt Lake airport on Friday, this June tied the 1967 record for the greatest number of days — 17 — with measurable precipitation.
Christine Kruse, a meteorologist with the Salt Lake NWS, said the airport received only a trace of rain Thursday and that doesn't count toward this record. Early Friday morning, 0.4 of an inch of rain fell to tie the record.
She said the chances are slim the 17-day record will be broken this year.
"It's looking pretty dry after today until the end of the month," she said.
The only slim chance Kruse sees for breaking the record is if Friday's storm lingers after midnight into today.
July 1 is the next day when a chance of moisture is predicted.
On the flip side, the most likely day for measurable precipitation in Salt Lake City is March 2, with a 50.7 percent chance, based on the historical record.
What about heat?
Although July 13, 2002, was the hottest day ever recorded in Salt Lake City at 107.1 degrees, July 23 and 24 are the two days most likely to be the hottest in any given year.
E-MAIL: lynn@desnews.com
