Timpanogos pounding continues

Incredible precip totals continue to pile up at the Sundance Mid Mountain MesoWest site (abbreviation SNM).  Over the past 48 hours a total of almost 8 inches of snow water equivalent has fallen.  Precipitation rates this morning and early afternoon frequently exceeded .3 inches of SWE per hour.

Temperatures today hovered near freezing and I suspect the snow was extremely heavy and wet based on what I observed at similar elevations in Little Cottonwood Canyon.

In fact, the 24-hour snowfall at SNM, based on the interval snow depth, was only about 12 inches, with 4.14 inches of SWE.  That's a water content of about 35%.  This is what happens when the subtropics come to Utah.

This morning the Utah Avalanche Center issued an Avalanche Warning for the Provo area mountains and reported that Sundance ski area was closed for the day.   This reminds me more of a Cascade storm than a Wasatch storm and I suspect we'll see evidence of some big, powerful avalanches around Timpanogos when the clouds clear.