A much needed snowstorm blanketed the county beginning Saturday night, and moderate to heavy snowfall is expected to continue through Tuesday.
A winter storm warning remained in effect for Cortez, Dolores, Dove Creek, Mancos, Durango, Ignacio and Bayfield until midnight, according to the National Weather Service in Grand Junction.
As of 8:40 a.m. Monday, CDOT was reporting no road closures, said spokesperson Nancy Shanks.
Highways 491 and 145 had chain requirements for commercial vehicles, Monday morning.
Cortez received around 10 inches since the snow began, and Dolores and Mancos received around a foot of fresh snow over the weekend. Forecasts call for up to eight more inches by the end of Monday, with totals of 10 to 18 inches. Winds are expected to be 10 to 20 mph with gusts of 30 mph.
Road conditions were snowpacked and slick on area highways and in Cortez, Dolores, and Mancos.
In Telluride, 16 inches of powder fell in the last 24 hours, bringing the base up to 57 inches. Wolf Creek Ski area received 30 inches of new snow in the last 24 hours, bringing their summit base to 79 inches. Ski Hesperus closed for the season Feb. 17.
Schools closed Monday because of inclement weather included all in the Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 District, Children’s Kiva Montessori School in Cortez, all the schools in the Dolores School District and all in the Mancos School District.
Jim Andrus, a weather watcher with National Weather Service, measured 10.4 inches of snow in Cortez from the storm, but the best part was the moisture level.
“This was one of the larger storms I have ever recorded,” Andrus said.
The month of February now measures 1.07 inches of precipitation, pushing us 114 percent above the normal .94 inches for the month.
“This storm put us in nice shape. We are now above normal,” Andrus said.
