After picking up nearly a foot of snow over the weekend, Purgatory Resort is bracing for another snow-producing storm on Monday, which officials for the mountain estimate could reach up to 12 inches.
Purgatory Resort reported 11-inches of new snow within the past 48 hours, giving the mountain a base depth of 30 inches, and allowing just about 50 percent of trails to be open. The resort has recorded a total of 54 inches of snowfall so far this season.
On Monday, another system will drop into the Durango area, bringing with it the potential for up to a foot of snow in the mountains. Megan Stackhouse, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction, said this storm could be stronger than the one experienced over the weekend.
“This system is colder than the previous system we had,” Stackhouse said Sunday. “We are expecting more significant impacts in terms of widespread snow. You should be getting some good snow, hopefully.”
Stackhouse predicted anywhere from 6 to 12-inches in the mountains. The city of Durango could see 2 to 4 inches, with snowfall starting around 11 a.m. Monday. There is also a 30 percent chance for snow Tuesday.
Early signs are showing the much-hyped El Niño pattern is powering the storm, Stackhouse said.
“It has definitely helped impact it,” she said. “A lot of systems so far this winter are following the same pattern: dropping from Pacific Northwest into our area. There seems to be a lot coming our way.”
The storms come just ahead of Purgatory Resort’s 50th anniversary party on Dec. 19, when the mountain will open the highly anticipated Lift 8, the new high-speed, detachable quad chairlift replacing the old, slow chair known as “Legends.”
jromeo@durangoherald.com