Chapman hill is melting.
On Wednesday, the ski slope in the middle of Durango lost an estimated half-million gallons of water due to runoff.
“It was just melting like crazy,” said Matt Nimetz, Chapman Hill manager. “It would be like if it snowed 3 feet, and then the next day it was 75 degrees.”
In anticipation of this week’s warm weather, the city of Durango closed Chapman Hill on Sunday for the season.
Given the volume of runoff, shutting down the hill was a “good call,” Nimetz said.
He spent the day working with the city of Durango Streets Department to prevent flooding in the parking lot below the ski hill. Unchecked runoff could freeze overnight, turning the lot and nearby Florida Road into an ice rink.
“Usually the hill melts out gradually,” he said. “… That temperature swing seemed out of normal.”
High temperatures have Durango residents trading winter coats for shorts and T-shirts.
Spring has undoubtedly arrived, but are above-average temperatures here to stay?
Although Durango saw unusually warm temperatures earlier this week, forecasters say conditions should cool slightly and return to a more typical pattern heading into the weekend.
Thursday’s high was expected to reach 76 degrees, just shy of the record 78 degrees set on March 31, 1966, said Kris Sanders, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction.
A ridge of high atmospheric pressure over Southwest Colorado is driving the above-average temperatures, which are predicated to continue for the next two weeks, Sanders said.
Temperatures will return to seasonal averages as low-pressure systems – which drive rain and snowfall – bring cooler weather through the region. However, any weekend precipitation will likely be limited to the San Juan Mountains.
Looking ahead to April, above-average temperatures are expected to continue, Sanders said. Snow will continue melting at lower elevations, diminishing snowpack.
Spring skiing conditions in the region don’t look too promising, he said.
“So I guess to answer your question, spring is – maybe – here,” he said.
That may be bad news for Purgatory Resort, where patches of dirt are peeking through a thin layer of snow on the front side of the mountain.
Sixty-seven of the resort's 107 runs remain open, with fewer than one-third of the 57 backside runs still available. Dave Rathbun, general manager of the resort, declined to comment on how many closures were due to the recent warm weather.
jbowman@durangoherald.com
