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Snow builds up north of Durango

Motorists on U.S. Highway 550 north of Durango drive on a wet road Friday as snow fell throughout the region. Accumulation is only expected in the mountains, according to the National Weather Service.

A powder day in the mountains could still be in the cards this holiday weekend, but down in Durango, it’s likely to stay dry for the comfort of shoppers on Small Business Saturday.

Scattered storms brought light snow to Durango on Friday morning, but nothing accumulated. That’s likely to remain the case through Saturday and into Sunday, said Ben Moyer, a meteorologist with the Grand Junction office of the National Weather Service, as the chance for snow in town dropped to 20 to 30 percent from the originally forecasted 50 percent.

“This developed a little north of you in the foothills of the San Juan (Mountains),” he said. “It’s actually snowing pretty good in western central Colorado. We even have a little snow in the air here in Grand Junction.”

Purgatory Resort had received 5 inches as of 4 p.m. Friday, with more expected overnight and into the morning Saturday. Wolf Creek Ski Area reported 11 inches from the storm, 8 inches within the last 24 hours. Silverton Mountain Ski Area is not planning to open until Dec. 19.

All the passes in the area were reported to be icy and snowpacked in spots.

The storms should clear out of the region Monday.

Climatologists said this would be a big El Niño snow year for Southwest Colorado. Is that going to start anytime soon?

“We’re expecting another system next weekend that’s setting up with an El Niño pattern,” Moyer said. “But it’s too early to tell if you’ll get any.”



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