What Is Brown Snow?

According to NWS, the snow turns brown as pollutants are picked up by the snow or dirt kicked up in the air by strong winds. "Strong winds associated with our storm today picked up dust and salt and mixed it with our snow. This caused a 'brown snow' to fall over many areas along the Wasatch Front and Tooele valley.

What does Brown snow mean?

Red, Orange and Brown Snow

While watermelon snow and other algae snow falls white and becomes colored as the algae grow on it, you may see snow that falls red, orange or brown due to the presence of dust, sand, or pollutants in the air.

What causes brown snow?

But what is causing the so called "dirty snow"? Chris O'Brien, a meteorologist at the US National Weather Service, told Time magazine that the discoloration is caused by dust particles carried on strong winds all the way from Texas.