A Sunday afternoon rainstorm brought roughly up to 0.8 inches of rain, causing a mudslide in the 4500 block of Main Avenue between Mild to Wild and Red Cliff Apartments.
The slide reduced traffic to one lane, according to a post on the Durango Police Department’s Facebook page. Clean up crews were on site removing debris as of 3:15 p.m. Sunday.
After a relatively light monsoon in July, Durango and the Animas Valley were hit hard by the rainstorm.
Areas near Purgatory Resort received slightly less rain with 0.6 inches, while Cortez experienced minimal precipitation. However, the National Weather Service reported hale about a half-inch in diameter in Towaoc.
“We've just been having this moisture that's been trapped across southwest Colorado for quite a while, with the moisture not really moving out of the area,” said NWS meteorologist Megan Sanders on Sunday.
Sanders said she received reports of flooding on Animas View Drive. Moisture is likely to hang around in Southwest Colorado and the San Juan Mountains through Tuesday.
She said that while July has been drier than usual, storms in late June have kept Southwest Colorado on par for a normal rainfall year.
Plus, moisture appears to be picking up in Southwest Colorado.
“It looks like we might get another push of monsoon moisture late next week,” Sanders said.
It’s been a promising summer for the region in regards to drought status. According to the United States Drought Monitor, Southwest Colorado is not considered in danger of drought.
tbrown@durangoherald.com
