The average annual rainfall in salt lake city, utah, is 18.58 inches, and the average annual rainfall in new york city is 46.23 inches. what might be the reason for the difference in the cities' average annual rainfall

Salt Lake City, Utah is located in a warm desert like area where there are little to no bodies of water for evaporation. New York City however, is located right on the east coast next to an ocean which allows for water to evaporate and fall over New York more than in Utah. This is also why New York gets more snow in the winter. This is known as the lake effect.