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Show Weathermen Expect Near Normal Winter Courtesy of the Salt Lake Tribune The National Weather Service said Saturday the Intermountain Area can expect normal or near normal precipitation this winter. And, coming on the heels of a year in which precipitation patterns defied logic, that's good news to skiers, farmers and state officials worried about replenishing replenish-ing underground water sources. William T. Chapman, meteorologist meteor-ologist in charge of the Salt Lake City International Airport office of the National Weather Service, said the weather patterns of the last two months, combined with the cold temperature of the Pacific Ocean, leads him to believe the area will have a near normal precipitation pattern in the winter months. In addition, he said statistics over the past 100 years indicate an 80 to 90 percent probability that a dry year will be followed by one of normal precipitation. The "water year" that ended Friday was far from normal, however. It was a period in which a record dry spell was followed by a month of record snowfall, which was followed in turn by a near record dry month and then a record wet month. All those records, ironically, added up to a near normal yearly precipitation total in the Salt Lake area. Precipitation for the water year ended Friday totaled 14.90 inches, just .27 inches below normal-statistically a normal year. |