Coal Bank and Molas passes have reopened on U.S. Highway 550 north of Durango as of Tuesday morning, but Red Mountain Pass between Silverton and Ouray remained closed as crews perform avalanche mitigation work after a passing storm dropped heavy snowfall over Southwest Colorado the last few days.
Colorado Department of Transportation spokeswoman Lisa Schwantes did not have an estimated time when Red Mountain Passes may reopen. The road closed around 5:15 p.m. Monday.
Once crews complete avalanche mitigation work, Red Mountain Pass will reopen, she said.
Chain laws remain in effect for Wolf Creek Pass, meaning chains or alternative-traction devices are required for all commercial vehicles, including buses. No oversize loads are allowed to cross the pass between Pagosa Springs and South Fork.
A winter storm warning went into effect 5 p.m. Sunday and lasted until 8 a.m. Tuesday for the high country around Durango. During that time, heavy snowfall and high winds entered the region, causing difficult travel.
Colorado State Patrol Capt. Adrian Driscoll said Tuesday the department responded to a number of reports of cars sliding off roadways Monday night into Tuesday morning.
The call volume was so high, Driscoll said, that the State Patrol was forced to go on an "accident alert" protocol, which means officers were able to respond to incidents only if they involved injuries.
"We had a lot of action," he said. "Nothing serious, but there were a lot of things going on."
Snow totals were still coming in Tuesday morning but preliminary data indicated Wolf Creek Ski area received 17 inches of new snow in the last 48 hours; Purgatory Resort reported 10 inches; and Telluride Ski resort reported 9 inches. Hesperus ski area received 6 inches.
Because of an abnormally dry winter - driven by colder temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, known as a weather cycle called "La Niña" - Southwest Colorado's snowpack has hovered around 20 to 30 percent of historic averages.
However, recent storms in the past few weeks has increased the snowpack for Animas, Dolores, San Juan and San Miguel basin to 53 percent of normal, according to the National Water and Climate Center.
Megan Stackhouse, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction, said the La Niña pattern hasn't completely broken down, but it has shifted its ridgeline far enough west to allow storms to enter the region.
This week, for instance, hasn't seen the last of winter weather.
A storm system is expected to enter the high country of the San Juan Mountains on Wednesday and last through Thursday night. During that time, another foot of snow could fall at higher elevations.
In Durango, precipitation will likely remain as rain with a chance for snow showers, as has been the case with the last series of storms. If temperatures drop, Stackhouse said lower elevations could see up to an inch of new snow.
While the region isn't completely out of La Niña's grip, Stackhouse said long-term climate prediction models indicate more neutral conditions in coming weeks, which could result in a wet spring.
An avalanche warning remains in effect for the south San Juan Mountains until Wednesday morning, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. During that time, travel in avalanche terrain is not recommend.
"Heavy snowfall and powerful winds over the last 48 hours overloaded a fragile snowpack," the warning states. "Human-triggered avalanches are very likely. Natural avalanches could break well above you and run to the valley floor."
jromeo@durangoherald.com
