Southwest Colorado residents eager to get on the golf course or mountain bike trail may have to wait yet another weekend.

The National Weather Service is predicting a 50 percent chance of rain and light snow Saturday.

“It will be scattered showers,” said meteorologist Jim Pringle of the Grand Junction office of the weather service, “but there will be some periods where the rain can come down pretty good.”

La Plata County probably will see from 0.2 to 0.5 of an inch of rain over the weekend, depending on the location, he said.

Temperatures will get cooler, so planning a Mother’s Day brunch outside Sunday, when the high is forecast to be 56 degrees with a 30 percent chance of rain, may invite trouble.

Residents should be happy they’re not living along the Continental Divide in the center of the state, where winter is truly making a return.

The weather service has issued a winter storm watch with an 80 percent chance of snow starting at 2 p.m. Saturday and continuing until 9 p.m. Sunday for areas such as Pitkin County.

Snow is predicted in Southwest Colorado at higher elevations this weekend, particularly above 10,000 feet, but only a slight accumulation is expected, Pringle said.

Relief from the low snowpack won’t come from this storm, he said.

“Roads will be a little slushy, so people should drive with caution, nonetheless,” he said.

Warmer, drier weather is on the horizon. Highs should move into the 60s by Monday and the 70s by Wednesday.

abutler@durangoherald.com