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What’s this stuff falling from the sky?

A few days’ rain doesn’t end drought
A few days’ rain doesn’t end drought
Ana Cuntz, a fourth-grader at Riverview Elementary School, balances her umbrella after school Wednesday. The daughter of Dave and Jen Cuntz of Durango was like many this week – unsure of what the next few hours of weather would bring.

Southwest Colorado could see more rain showers the rest of this week, along with cooler temperatures.

The San Juan Mountains were expected to see about a quarter inch of rain overnight and could see additional moisture today, said Joe Ramey, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction.

Mountains above 9,000 feet could get snow. Durango could see showers today and some hail depending on the strength of the storm, Ramey said.

Durango weather watcher Briggen Wrinkle reported the town saw one-tenth of an inch of rain from 8 a.m. Tuesday to 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Cortez saw pea-sized hail during Wednesday’s storm.

Temperatures will be in the mid-30s in the mornings and upper 50s in the afternoons with a slight chance of reaching the 60s today, Ramey said.

The rain showers could continue into the weekend, but temperatures are expected to rise into the 70s on Sunday and early next week.

Despite the recent precipitation, the area still is in a severe drought with snowpack levels far below average.

The San Miguel, Dolores, Animas and San Juan River basin is at 39 percent of average for snowpack, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

However, the basin is at 204 percent of last year’s snowpack.

Southwest Colorado never reached average snowpack levels during the winter, and what little snow the region did receive is melting quickly. The cooler temperatures will help slow the melting some, but it “will come off very quickly next week as we dry out,” Ramey said.

“It will slow down the loss of snowpack, but we’re in a bad way,” he said. “It’s really the southwest corner of the state that is in the worst shape right now.”

jdahl@durangoherald.com



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