Bundle up – it’s about to get windy on one of the shortest days of the year.
The National Weather Service is forecasting a blustery beginning to the week, with a partly sunny Monday – the day after the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year – looking a little temperamental. Monday’s high will be near 40 with possible rain or snow before 4 p.m., and winds out of the west up to 25 mph that could pick up as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent.
Tuesday should be sunny with a high near 39, and it is expected to be less windy, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Christmas Eve will see plenty of sunshine, a high near 42, and Christmas Day, a slight chance of snow, with highs in the low 40s. For the record, in 1996, Christmas Day hit a high of 55 degrees. In 1990, the low was minus 12.
Friday looks sunny, high near 35.
While Durango remained dry Sunday evening, the evidence of nearby winter weather could be seen on vehicles about town – snow and ice caked in wheel wells and lining windshields.
Holiday skiers and snowboarders hit the slopes with a gusto, as winter weather has provided a better-late-than-never scenario for the local ski areas.
Telluride received 2 feet of snow in the past week, bringing the ski area up to speed, with 17 of 18 lifts running over a 36-inch base.
Wolf Creek is 70 percent open, including coveted terrain such as Alberta Peak, the Knife Ridge and Horseshoe Bowl. With a 30-inch base, the 75-year-old ski area has received 4 inches of new snow, with up to 6 inches of accumulation possible by Monday night.
Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort opened lifts 3 and 5 this weekend, making more than half the mountain open for skiing. It plans to open Lift 8 on Tuesday.
A winter-weather advisory and hazardous-weather outlook remains in effect until 6 p.m. Monday for much of the San Juan Mountains, and a storm could leave as much as 10 inches of new snow on Purgatory’s slopes by Monday night.
bmathis@durangoherald.com
