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Weather-watchers prophesize downpours

Storms expected to unleash lightning and thunder

Anyone who’s been praying for rain will soon have reason to rejoice: The heavens are poised to unleash a great deal of moisture on Durango before Monday, according to the National Weather Service.

Matthew Aleksa, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction, said a “deeper monsoonal moisture is moving into the region” this weekend.

While moisture is expected to build Saturday, heavy rains are likely to pummel town Sunday.

“While storms are forming, they don’t last too long before they end up dissolving. It’s more of a pop-and-drop environment right now,” he said.

But, he said, forecasters predict a more dramatic downfall Sunday, replete with a fittingly Biblical mixture of thunder, lighting and possible flooding.

“We have a disturbance moving through, with moisture coming across most of western Colorado and eastern Utah, with Sunday being the peak day in terms of storm activity,” he said.

While the rain may dampen churchgoers’ morning observances, the afternoon is likely to prove drenched.

Aleksa said because the storms are slow-moving, there’s an increased chance “of localized flooding, especially in higher terrain like the San Juans, where there’s steeper slopes. It will start there in the morning, then spread into the valleys.”

While the forecast is ominous, at this point, it’s unclear exactly how much water will deluge Durango, Aleksa said. Forecasters were calling for a 30 to 50 percent chance of rain throughout the weekend in Durango.

cmcallister@ durangoherald.com



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