A storm early Sunday morning brought roughly 9 inches of snow to Purgatory Resort, according to reports from the National Weather Service.
The storm caused the closure the U.S. Highway 550 corridor between Purgatory all the way to Ouray from 11:35 a.m. to 1:40 p.m. Sunday. As of 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Red Mountain Pass remained closed due to avalanche and weather conditions.
NWS meteorologist Erin Walter said Durango received about 2 to 3 inches of snow within city limits.
“We're starting to see some more moisture coming in from the Pacific Northwest. This one today was tied to a an atmospheric river that carried an abundance of moisture across a lot of the Western United States,” Walter said.
Cortez did not experience the same snowfall as Durango, receiving only about a half inch while Dolores had about 1 to 2 inches. Pagosa Springs received around 3 to 4 inches, while Wolf Creek Ski area is reporting 10 inches as of 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
Silverton also experienced about 9 inches from the Sunday storm.
“The weather pattern has finally taken a shift where we were getting more moisture in storm systems tracking across us. Whereas before, they were deflected to our north or even to our south,” Walter said.
This may not be the end of this cycle of snowy weather either.
Remnants of Sunday’s storm will hang around into Monday. Tuesday should be relatively clear, Walter says.
However, Wednesday and Thursday show signs for more precipitation in southern San Juan Mountains but Walter believes the storm will likely impact the northern mountains near Steamboat Springs more.
Colorado Department of Transportation reports that traffic was heavily slowed heading over Wolf Creek Pass between mile marker 144 to marker 176 with oversize loads prohibited.
tbrown@durangoherald.com
