Snowfall was only about an inch in Durango, but it fell a little heavier in the high country Friday, potentially creating some powder for weekend skiers.
Durango didn’t catch the brunt of Friday’s storm, said Joe Ramey, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction.
The snow was a result of a combination of moisture streaming upward from the southwest and a cold front coming in from the northwest, which collided in the area, Ramey said.
But, he said that upward of 8 inches were possible in the higher terrain, including the southwest San Juan Mountains.
Snow was expected to end around 8 or 9 p.m. Friday, though a winter weather advisory was in effect until midnight.
“I think that’s the end of your snow for the foreseeable future,” Ramey said.
The storm made morning driving conditions treacherous in places, with a three-car pileup and rollover reported on U.S. Highway 550 north of the Iron Horse Inn in the Animas Valley. No injuries were reported.
Mountain passes on the highway experienced slightly heavier snow conditions, with about 4½ inches of snow at Coal Bank Pass, 5½ inches at Molas Pass and 6½ inches at Red Mountain Pass were measured Friday morning; 6 more inches were expected for those areas by Friday evening.
A few crashes occurred on county roads, but the Colorado State Patrol reported no major accidents Friday, said Jessica Madrid, communications director with the State Patrol.
As of Friday evening, road conditions for the Durango area had spotty precipitation and no major accumulations, she said.
Durango Mountain Resort’s snow report, last updated just before noon, documented about 4 to 5 inches within the last 24 hours. Wolf Creek Ski Area reported 7 new inches as of 5 p.m. Friday.
Another weather disturbance will be passing through today, Ramey said, but will affect primarily the northern side of the San Juans.
The weather will be party cloudy in Durango today with about a 30 percent chance of snow, the highs will be around freezing, he said.
It will be partly cloudy to sunny through Thursday, with highs in the low to mid 30s and lows in the single digits to teens, he said.
“This is your storm of the week,” Ramey said.
vguthrie@durangoherald.com
