udiness. The influence of ice cover in the winter months decreases the magnitude of changes observed. On average, the lake volume increases in spring (April through June), due to snowmelt runoff. Decreases occur in the summer months, with the greatest decrease usually occurring in August. However, increases or decreases can occur in any calendar month. At first glance, one would suspect that the winter/spring precipitation and summer/fall temperature (and hence atmospheric circulation patterns), are most important for diagnosing the changes in the volume of the lake. Monthly trends and the base climatology of these variables are reviewed next.
             Figure 1. (a) Historical, standardized time series of the Great Salt Lake, Utah and Devils Lake, North Dakota. Note the dramatic fluctuations of both N. American closed basin lakes, that are often in phase over the period of common record, while the pattern for the amplitudes of positive or negative excursi
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