The week may have started soggy and blustery, but Southwest Colorado should return to it’s default May weather pattern by mid week: lots of sunshine.
Wednesday is expected to be mostly clear with a high of 65 in Durango, according to the National Weather Service. Thursday’s high is expected to hit 73 under clear skies.
The National Weather Service also expects the series of cloudy, rainy weekends to end this week with sunshine expected to prevail Friday through Sunday.
But Tuesday is expected to remain rainy with a new storm moving into Southwest Colorado Monday night.
On Monday, areas above 8,000 feet received snow, including Rockwood at 8,700 feet in elevation 20 miles north of Durango, which received 6 inches of snow and 0.83 inches of moisture as of 8:30 a.m. Monday, said Jim Pringle, forecaster with the weather service.
“It’s much-needed precipitation,” he said. “It’s better to have some wet periods versus a situation where we’re prone to wildfires.
“Everything should be drying out once again by (Tuesday) evening, and it should stay relatively dry though the week – Saturday at least – with a warming trend starting Wednesday,” Pringle said.
Climatologists predict above-average precipitation through May and June.
“This is pretty typical of the El Niño pattern, having a wet spring like this,” Pringle said.
shane@durangoherald.com
