The beautiful weather during the day Christmas Eve belied the precipitation predicted to begin falling Saturday night.
“A winter weather advisory is in effect in Durango, and we’re expecting the storm to drop 4 to 6 inches of snow,” said John Kyle, the data acquisition program manager for the Grand Junction office of the National Weather Service.
“The San Juan Mountains are under a winter storm warning through all of Sunday, and we expect them to get 10 to 16 inches, with locally higher amounts up to 20 inches.”
The advisory and warning were scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. Saturday and last until midnight Sunday for all of Southwest Colorado.
Snow may continue into Monday into some areas.
All area passes were still reporting dry road conditions as of 6 p.m. Saturday, but that was expected to change later in the evening.
Drivers are encouraged to check www.cotrip.org for road conditions before setting out and www.weather.gov/gjt/ for weather status.
Or maybe it will just be a good day to settle in for Christmas festivities with family and friends before setting out on the roads Monday.
abutler@durangoherald.com
