Snowfall has reached at least 10 inches in five north Alabama counties as a late-winter storm dumped far more snow across the region that even the wildest expectations foresaw, according to snowfall reports late Wednesday night.

The heaviest snow so far has fallen in Hartselle in Morgan County, according to a report by a trained spotter. Snowfalls topping 10 inches were also reported in Madison, Jackson, Franklin and Cullman counties.

By Thursday morning, Marshall County became the sixth north Alabama county with 10 or more inches of snow -- led by the town of Grant with 11.5 inches. And early Thursday, the National Weather Service forecast office in Huntsville reported 8.1 inches of snow in Huntsville -- the second-snowiest day in the city's history.

On Wednesday morning before the storm arrived in Alabama, top estimates from forecasters estimated about 6 inches of snowfall.

The weather service collected the readings, which are not official but give an indication of the suffocating blanket that smacked the Tennessee Valley. The accumulation could be higher once the snow event concludes.

Here is a sampling of snowfall measurements across north Alabama collected by the weather service (updated Feb. 26, 2015 at 10:30 a.m. with new snowfall totals):