Durango can expect 2 to 4 inches of snow from a weak system moving through Southwest Colorado Sunday, and more snow is expected later this week from similar weak cells.
Jimmy Fowler, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction, said the high country in the southern San Juan Mountains can expect up to 6 inches from the storm, which is mostly centered over northern New Mexico and is hitting only a southwestern slice of Colorado.
Snow is expected to end Sunday evening with Monday looking clear, but then a chance for snow returns for Southwest Colorado through the remainder of the week, according to the weather service’s five-day forecast for Durango.
Fowler said the snow cells expected later in the week also are likely to be fairly weak. “From Tuesday through Friday, you should see a few separate systems moving through,” he said.
The Durango Police Department didn’t hear of any accidents Sunday morning during the commute, Sgt. Nick Stasi said.
“The roads are snowpacked and icy in spots and we ask drivers to use caution, slow down and give yourself extra stopping distance,” he said.
Chains or snow tires are required Sunday on Red Mountain Pass from mile marker 71 to 95 and on U.S. Highway 550 and on Wolf Creek Pass from mile marker 152 to 176, according to travel alerts issued by the Colorado Department of Transportation.
La Plata County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Richard Paige said several cars have slid off roads during the storm, but as of 1 p.m., no injuries had been reported.
“People are starting to get out and about, and we’re getting a few slide-offs,” he said.
Purgatory Resort reports 4 inches of new snow in the past 24 hours with a base depth of 40 inches. Wolf Creek Ski Area reports 7 inches of new snow with a midway base of 65 inches. Telluride Ski Resort records 6 inches of new snow with a base of 48 inches.
Fowler said the National Weather Service still expects a weak to moderate El Niño to form later this month with a 65 percent chance of extending through the spring.
Fowler said rising ocean temperatures in the south Pacific Ocean, one of the factors used to determine an El Niño, are present, but so far increased rainfall in the eastern Pacific, which also is used to call an El Niño, has yet to materialize.
parmijo@durangoherald.com
Road conditions
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Herald Staff
