A wet weekend storm dropped about 5.3 inches of snow in Cortez, but warm temperatures turned it to slush Monday.
“The sun is getting higher in the sky, so it’s doing a better job of melting the snow than it would have a month ago,” said local weather watcher Jim Andrus.
The chance for more snow was the highest about noon Monday, but is expected to be low on Monday night and Tuesday, said Norv Larson, a meteorologist with National Weather Service.
“Tuesday doesn’t look actually very good,” Larson said.
Warm temperatures turned snow into rain in Cortez overnight Sunday, limiting the accumulations of snow, Andrus said.
Total precipitation from the storm was about 0.56 of an inch, he said.
Montezuma-Cortez and Dolores schools operated Monday with a two-hour delay. Dove Creek closed school for the day.
City crews were busy cleaning streets and storm drains Monday morning, said Dona Thompson, an administrative assistant for the city Public Works Department.
“They are trying to get as much done as they can before the weather changes again,” she said.
The high temperature on Tuesday was expected to be in the 20s. Later in the week, highs are expected to be near freezing, Larson said.
A winter storm warning was still in effect across Southwest Colorado through Tuesday and 6-12 inches of snow was expected to fall across the southern valleys. The San Juan Mountains could receive 18 to 36 inches, the National Weather Service said.
Hazardous travel conditions were expected.
A winter storm warning means significant amounts of snow are expected or occurring. Strong winds and blowing snow are also possible. This will make travel very hazardous or impossible.
Although January is typically a drier month for the region, snowstorms brought 1.4 inches of precipitation to the region during the first month of 2016, which is about 169 percent of average, Andrus said
Since November, the region has received about 52.7 inches of snow.
“El Niño has been generous to us,” he said.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
