Get ready for a chill.
A mix of rain and snow is forecast early this week in Southwest Colorado with cold air coming from the northwest following the precipitation – prime conditions to send local temperatures below normal later this week.
The National Weather Service in Grand Junction issued a special weather statement and a hazardous weather outlook in effect today through Saturday for areas surrounding Durango, calling for rainy, snowy, then cold conditions beginning late Tuesday afternoon.
Weather officials said Durango could get up to 4 inches of snow by Wednesday.
“Durango, itself, may actually start out with rain during the day on Tuesday but then change to snow by Tuesday night,” Dan Cuevas, a technician with the weather service, said Sunday.
Frigid air will pour in behind the precipitation, and this weekend’s daytime temperatures will hover below freezing and be in the single digits at night, according to the weather service.
Nighttime lows in northern valleys and the mountains could dip below zero.
“Looking quite a bit colder than we’ve seen so far this season,” Cuevas said.
He said higher elevations will see strong winds and heavy snow.
Significant snowfall is possible for western Colorado mountains, and Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort could receive up to a foot, which would add to already-strong early-season conditions for skiers.
In its issued statement, the weather service was uncertain about some characteristics and the duration of what forecasters are calling a complicated storm. Travelers are advised to expect developing hazardous conditions early in the week, the statement read.
bmathis@durangoherald.com
