Is a US Snowfall Record in Jeopardy?

From the Weather Channel today, an article entitled "Mt. Shasta: Is U.S. Snowstorm Record in Jeopardy?

To quote the article, "The Thursday morning National Weather Service summit forecast for Shasta predicted an incredible 33 to 39 inches of snow -- just for Thursday alone...Add up the high end of the numbers and you get a forecast maximum of 218 inches of snow in four days!"

Unfortunately, this is an example of extrapolation and sensationalism run amok.  The world record single snowstorm accumulation of 189 inches was set from Feb 13-19, 1959 at Mount Shasta ski bowl. The ski bowl is going to get a pounding over the next few days, but some of the precipitation is going to fall as rain.  Snow levels are quite high in this storm.  Here's what the base looked like at noon today.

What about higher up on the mountain?  Well, the 218 inch figure noted above is for the summit.  Surely it will snow a ton there?  

Unfortunately, precipitation can't always increase with elevation, as I think was assumed for these forecast numbers, especially on a big mountain like Shasta.  Typically on such huge mountains, the heaviest precipitation falls at mid elevations, near 8000-9000 ft.  There are many reasons for this, but one that is evident at times over the next few days is that storms don't always extend to the summit.  For example, during some periods during the next few days, the storm is capped at about 700 mb, or 10,000 feet.

It is also illustrative to consider the circumstances during the 1959 storm.  During that event, there were prolific snows not only on the mountain, but also in the lower elevations.  Mt. Shasta City, at ~3600 ft. had a reported 33 inches of snow during the first day of the storm.  Unlike the current storm, that was a cold storm, and I suspect the snow that fell at the Mt. Shasta snow bowl was somewhat drier than average.  This helps to yield larger accumulations.

So, the answer to the Weather Channels question is no.  This will be an impressive storm at elevations perhaps in the 8000-10000 ft band on Mt. Shasta, but records will not fall.  Maybe one of you can go up and measure for me to confirm this.