Yea, I often say speed of movement is overrated in terms of total snowfall. I bet the absolute highest amount in 1978 was only 6" higher than Monday due to speed of movement.
Dude, I earned that last inch...it fell while I was breaking my back, and vault-jumping to get the shovel loads over the 6' high bankings that line my driveway. I honestly can't imagine having gotten 40" instead of 10".