Chain laws are in effect for U.S. Highway 550 on Coal Bank and Molas passes, but light Sunday traffic is keeping problems to a minimum on roads in Durango.
Durango Police Department Cpl. Travis Ketelsleger reported only one fender-bender early Sunday morning when a car slid into the vehicle in front of it.
“Plows are out, and there are some slick spots, but it’s not super bad,” Ketelsleger said.
La Plata County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Richard Paige said numerous county roads are slick and discouraged travel, reporting several vehicles have slid off rural roads.
Dennis Phillips, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction, said he expects about 3 inches of snow in Durango from Sunday’s storm before it clears out sometime around sundown.
He expected 2 to 3 inches of snow along the west-east U.S. Highway 160 corridor between Cortez and Pagosa Springs, with more snowfall at locations higher in elevation. He expected about 4 inches in Telluride and up to 5 inches in Silverton.
Snow removal is underway at Durango-La Plata County Airport and runways are open for operations said, Tony Vicari, director of aviation.
Vicari said delays for de-icing on planes were reported Sunday morning. A flight to Dallas was delayed about 40 minutes, but another flight to Denver departed on time, he said.
The storm is cold, coming from the northwest, Phillips said.
Sunday’s high in Durango was expected to reach 30 degrees with highs rising to the mid-30s Tuesday and the low 40s Wednesday. Lows are expected to be 8 degrees Sunday night in Durango and 3 degrees Monday.
In Silverton, Sunday’s high is expected to be 22 degrees. Tuesday’s high in Silverton is expected to be 28.
Phillips said the next storm to hit the region is expected to move in late Thursday or early Friday. It is a warmer storm from the south-southwest, and it may start initially as a rain-snow mix turning to snow as temperatures drop.
Later this month or early January, Phillips said the National Weather Service expects a weak El Niño pattern to form. El Niños typically favor above-average snowfall in Southwest Colorado.
parmijo@durango herald.com
