Snow, rain forecast for early this week

Winter storm advisory issued through Wednesday for San Juan Mountains
A plow on Coal Bank Pass last month. The National Weather Service says up to 2 feet of snow could fall in Southwest Colorado’s mountains early this week.

A mix of snow and rain could make for sloppy conditions Monday and Tuesday in Montezuma County, but at higher elevations, the moisture could result in up to 2 feet of snow, according to the National Weather Service in Grand Junction.

A winter storm advisory has been issued from 3 p.m. Monday until 6 p.m. Wednesday for parts of Southwest Colorado above 7,500 feet in elevation, including the San Juan Mountains.

The snow is expected to begin Tuesday when temperatures drop to about 28 degrees, according to the weather service. The snow will turn to rain later in the day as temperatures inch toward a high of 40 degrees.

The storm is expected to repeat that pattern on Tuesday – snow in the morning and rain in the afternoon – and then clear out on Wednesday.

A few more storms are shaping up for later this week, but details remained a little hazy Sunday afternoon.

This week’s storm is blowing in from the Pacific west-northwest.

“The system is pretty warm,” said Andrew Lyons, meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “We’re kind of starting to get hints of spring. You guys are going to be bouncing back and forth between freezing and above-freezing.”

shane@durangoherald.com