Durango woke Saturday morning to a white blanket, a sight that will continue through the weekend as two weak storms are expected to dump less than 6 inches of snow in the region, meteorologists say.
Saturday’s storm is not expected to drop much more snow as a weak low-pressure system moves east, out of the region, said Matthew Aleksa, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction. The San Juan Mountains could receive up to another 2 inches before the storm passes, he said.
Purgatory Resort reported 4 inches of snow since 5 a.m. Saturday
No crashes were reported in Durango as of 10:30 a.m. Saturday, said Cpl. Travis Ketelsleger with the Durango Police Department. One vehicle did slide off a road, but the driver was able to get the vehicle out, he said.
State Patrol Cpt. Adrian Driscoll said there was one crash Saturday morning that involved property damage on County Road 501 near Bayfield, but other than that, there has been “nothing serious.”
Another weather disturbance south of the Colorado border could bring snow to the southwest part of the state Sunday, one that could bring 1 to 2 inches of snow in Durango, Aleksa said. “But details are still being worked out with that next one,” he said.
Along with the snow comes winter temperatures – Saturday’s high is expected to be in the mid-30s, Saturday night and Sunday morning will be cloudy with a low in the 20s and Sunday will have a high in the mid-30s plus snow, Aleksa said. Once the storms leave the region Sunday night, temperatures are expected to drop to the mid teens, he said.
The National Weather Service forecast for Durango shows possible snow showers coming Thursday and Friday, but Aleksa said he was permitted to talk about only immediate weather predictions because of the government shutdown.
bhauff@durangoherald.com
