Freezing temperatures and another blast of moisture are expected to make for slick driving conditions Tuesday morning above 7,500 feet in elevation in the San Juan Mountains, weather forecasters said.
A winter weather advisory is in effect until 9 a.m. Tuesday above 9,000 feet in elevation for the northern and southern San Juan Mountains, which includes the town of Silverton and Coal Bank, Molas, Red Mountain and Lizard Head passes.
Forecasters were calling for another 3 to 8 inches of snow late Monday and early Tuesday in the high country, with up to a foot of snow in some areas.
“If you’re going to do some driving, treat it like it’s winter,” said Chris Cuoco, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction. “Be prepared for snow on the road, bad visibility if there’s a snow shower at the wrong time, and don’t dress like it’s still June.”
A slow-moving storm brought rain to Durango and 2 to 5 inches of snow above 9,000 feet early Monday. Purgatory Resort reported 3 inches of snow Monday morning in what the resort called its first snow of the season.
Silverton Mountain ski patrollers made their first turns of the season Monday, according to a news release issued by the ski area.
“As the patrollers rode up the chairlift today (Monday) they were surprised to find such great conditions and celebrated the start of winter season at Silverton Mountain,” the release said. “The fun factor was off the charts as the first lift-served turns of the Colorado 2018-19 ski season were made at Colorado’s highest elevation ski area.”
While Monday’s storm blanketed much of the mountains with a layer of new snow, major highway passes largely avoided snow accumulation, Cuoco said.
But the adverse weather conditions were enough to postpone Monday’s construction work on Ruby Walls, three miles south of Ouray on U.S. Highway 550. The road was expected to be closed from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. A CDOT spokeswoman said Monday it was unclear when work would begin and how long it would last.
Monday’s storm arrived from the northwest, but it also drew moisture from the south, Cuoco said.
The storm slowly churned over Arizona and was expected to exit the region by 9 a.m. Tuesday.
“It’s just circulating up from the south and the southwest into the Durango area, the Four Corners and up into Central Colorado,” Cuoco said. “It’s just going to slowly lift out to the northeast over the course of the next 24 hours (9 a.m. Tuesday).”
shane@durangoherald.com
