A winter storm hit Southwest Colorado about midnight Thursday and dumped about 2.5 inches of snow in Cortez by sunrise, the National Weather Service said.
The weather service reported that by 7 a.m., 4 inches had fallen in Dolores, 3 inches in Mancos and 5-10 inches in the San Juan Mountains.
Snow-covered roads in Montezuma Valley and the mountains caused several vehicles to slide off the road on U.S. Highways 160 and 491 and Colorado Highway 145, according to the Colorado State Patrol Trooper Gary Smith, but no injuries were reported.
By noon Friday, when the winter storm advisory expired, local roads below 6,000 feet were clear of snow but remained wet.
Weather service meteorologist Matt Aleksa said another snowstorm was expected to hit Southwest Colorado on Saturday night and Sunday, and snow was expected to accumulate in the San Juans.
The forecast for Saturday’s Four Corners Realtors Parade of Lights in Cortez was expected to be 29 degrees, with a wind chill of 23 degrees. The parade begins at 6 p.m. on West Main Street. Temperatures on Saturday were expected to range between a daytime high in the 30s to a nighttime low in the upper teens.
Monday through Wednesday looks dry, with the next best potential for a storm on Thursday night or Friday, the weather service said.
Aleksa said the storm track appears to be transitioning to an El Niño weather pattern that tends to favor a southern jet stream and more precipitation for the Four Corners area.
