One Hundred Inches in One Hundred Hours: Evolution of a Wasatch Mountain Winter Storm Cycle

Abstract

Synoptic, orographic, and lake-effect precipitation processes during a major winter storm cycle over the Wasatch Mountains of northern Utah are examined using radar imagery, high-density surface data, and precipitation observations from Alta Ski Area [2600–3200 m above mean sea level (MSL)] and nearby Salt Lake City International Airport (1288 m MSL). The storm cycle, which occurred from 22 to 27 November 2001, included two distinct storm systems that produced 108 in. (274 cm) of snow at Alta Ski Area, including 100 in. (254 cm) during a 100-h period. Each storm system featured an intrusion of low equivalent potential temperature (θe) air aloft, well in advance of a surface-based cold front. Prefrontal precipitation became increasingly convective as low-θe air aloft moved over northern Utah, while cold frontal passage was accompanied by a convective line and a stratiform precipitation region. Postfrontal destabilization led to orographic and lake-effect snowshowers that produced two-thirds of the observed snow water equivalent at Alta. Storm stages were defined based on the passage of the above features and their accompanying changes in stability and precipitation processes. Contrasts between mountain and lowland precipitation varied dramatically from stage to stage and storm to storm, and frequently deviated from climatology, which features a nearly fourfold increase in precipitation between Salt Lake City and Alta. Based on the two storms, as well as other studies, a schematic diagram is presented that summarizes the evolution of Intermountain West snowstorms featuring an intrusion of low-θe air aloft ahead of a surface cold front. Implications for short-range quantitative precipitation forecasting and seasonal-to-annual hydrometeorological prediction are discussed.