The Winter Storm Warning continues through Monday morning.
Could a decaying atmospheric river be denied?
It's been a powerhouse: strong wind, heavy dense snowfall, blowing and drifting snow, rising temperatures. And the storm rages on.
Overnight snow and water numbers are 6-12" (2.21" snow water equivalent). Storm totals are 30"/3.57" snow-water-equivalent at Sundance and half-to two-thirds that elsewhere in Provo.
Aside from all the snow, winds from the west-northwest have been merciless and punishing at all elevations. At 11,000', another violent gust just after midnight hit 109mph and even the low/mid elevation anemometers are spinning 25mph gusting 45mph. Mountain temperatures have climbed into the mid to upper 20s.
For today, we'll see continued, albeit diminished, snowfall rates with moderate to strong winds from the west-northwest. Temperatures will be in the mid to upper 20s. I expect an additional 5-10" of snow through tomorrow morning, where the winds, finally, start to lose steam. We start to clear by Monday afternoon with a warming trend pushing mountain temperatures into the upper 30s to upper 40s (mid-elevations) by Tuesday. A weak system follows for Thursday.
Widespread cracking and collapsing were key clues to instability yesterday. One observer in the left hand fork of Hobble Creek noted a good avalanche on a road-cut that pulled out to the ground. Estimates are 2' deep and 50' wide. THIS is a key observation the confirms very dangerous avalanche conditions on (and below) steep terrain.
