Another storm will hit Southwest Colorado on Tuesday afternoon, following on the heels of a storm last week that brought the first measurable amount of snow to the region’s lower elevations and dumped up to 2 feet of snow in the San Juan Mountains.
“It looks like mainly rain for the lower elevations, possibly some snow,” said hydro-meteorological technician Dan Cuevas with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction. “This storm is not going to be as cold as the previous system.”
Cuevas said the storm system is warmer because it originated farther south in the Pacific Ocean than the previous storm.
“It’s not coming in from as far north as the other system. It doesn’t have quite the cold origin the other one did,” Cuevas said.
Snow in the mountains is expected to begin Tuesday afternoon and continue through Wednesday afternoon, with rain in the lower elevations Tuesday.
“It’ll probably be about 6 to 12 inches (of snow) up high,” Cuevas said.
Saturday, the Colorado Avalanche Center announced an avalanche advisory for the Rocky Mountains, including the southern San Juan Mountains. The risk – measured on a scale of one to five from “low” to “extreme” – was considered “considerable,” or Level 3, near and above treeline, and ”moderate“ below treeline. It was set to expire 6 p.m. Sunday.
Thursday’s storm came amid a cold snap. Snow began falling in the late afternoon, and roads became icy as they reached freezing temperatures about 6 p.m. on U.S. Highway 160. The Colorado State Patrol reported a dozen slide-offs and crashes by 9 p.m.
Cuevas said last week’s storm system brought between 10 to 20 inches of snow in higher elevations and 4 to 5 inches in lower elevations like Durango.
The storm proved to be a pre-holiday bounty for regional ski areas.
Purgatory Resort reported it received as much as 32 inches of snow from last week's storms, with 25 inches coming just on Thursday night. Sunday, Purgatory reported a base of 30 to 35 inches of packed snow.
Telluride Ski Resort reported receiving 31 inches of new snow in the past eight days, with a base Sunday of 22 inches of packed snow. Wolf Creek Ski Area reported 13 inches of snow in the past eight days and a base of 42 inches.
Cuevas said there might be another chance of snow Thursday night into Friday.
“I’d say the next one at this point in time looks to be Thursday night and Friday,” Cuevas said. “Possibly not as major as the one we’ll have earlier in the week, but nevertheless a chance of rain and snow.”
njohnson@durangoherald.com
