Storm Update @ 7:50 AM

As expected, a winter storm moved into northern Utah overnight and is giving us the best storm of the season so far.  Based on reports to the National Weather Service, there are some impressive snow totals on the benches including 13 inches on the Bountiful Bench (as of 6 am), 12 inches in Cottonwood Heights (as of 6 am), 7 inches in the upper Avenues (as of 6 am).  In the mountains, Snowbasin Middle Bowl was at 10 inches as of 5 am and Alta-Collins sits at 7 inches as of 7 am.

I suspect the snow at Snowbasin was heaviest during the southwesterly crest-level flow overnight. The heavy bench snow, however, is very consistent with what we've seen on radar since the low-level flow shifted to northwesterly.  Note how the highest returns are on the benches west of the Stansbury, Oquirrh, and Wasatch Mountains, especially in the terrain concavities near Bountiful/North Salt Lake and the mouths of the Cottonwoods.

Mountain precipitation rates haven't been as great in the central Wasatch, as one might infer from the radar above.  The flow right now is fairly weak and the orographic enhancement is confined to the benches.  Although 7" has fallen at Alta-Collins, there's only been 0.39" of water with it.