Numbers and Scenes from the Storm

A few numbers from today's storm.  As of 3 PM, Alta Collins has a 24-hour water equivalent total of 2.18" and a snow total of 19 inches.  After a break this morning, they got plastered with the frontal passage in the afternoon, picking up a very quick 8 inches of snow.

I opted to ski tour today.  The scene from the parking lot at Solitude where we started our tour was positively Cascadian.  It was raining to just below this level.  The lot was very slush and the snow concrete.

Ski conditions above 9000 feet were actually fun where the wind wasn't roaring.  On the Park City Ridgeline, we found a tempest.  I took this photo during a "lull" just prior to the frontal passage.

Although I wasn't in the valley to observe the frontal passage, a friend sent me the photo below.  I'm sure you all enjoyed it.  In the mountains, the visuals weren't as dramatic, but there was thunder and eventually heavy snowfall of 2-3 inches an hour.

That led to "sh-t show" conditions driving down Big Cottonwood.

Great to see winter is BACK BABY!

I bet the turns will be good tomorrow if you can bear the cold (-19ºC at 700 mb/10,000 feet based on the models).  Be careful out there if you are heading into the backcountry.  The frontal snow will hide a lot of booby traps.