Those hoping for a white Christmas in Durango may be disappointed. Snow is expected to return to Southwest Colorado around the holiday – but mostly at high elevations.
A surge in moisture from the West Coast is expected to arrive late Christmas Eve, said Kris Sanders, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
“We have a big ridge of high pressure building kind of over the Central U.S., and then the flip side of that is a deep trough just off the West Coast,” Sanders said. “We’re looking at record-high temperatures (over the) next couple days, and as the trough builds, there’s going to be an atmospheric river with an impressive amount of moisture.”
The combination of warmth and moisture will bring rain to lower elevations and snow to the mountains, he said.
“Unfortunately, if you are wanting snow, it’s a very warm air mass, and when this moisture arrives our snow levels are going to be around 9,000 to 10,000 feet,” Sanders said.
Another system is expected later in the week, with slightly colder temperatures and lower snow levels.
“This storm system has two pushes of moisture,” Sanders said. “The snow levels look like they will come down on Friday and Saturday when another round of moisture comes in. That could drop snow levels down to maybe 6,000 or 7,000 feet, but there’s not as much moisture compared to the first one, so we will have less snow and rain.”
Other than high mountain passes like Molas, Red Mountain and Wolf Creek, the storm is not expected to severely affect travel.
“You’re definitely going to encounter some snow on the passes but it will be high in elevation,” Sanders said. “You might even be dealing with sort of a slushy snow, especially in the beginning. It might take a while for the roads get icy.”
He said roads over high passes will likely become icy or snow-packed by Friday and Saturday as temperatures drop, but most other routes should remain clear.
Sanders encouraged drivers to check weather.gov and cotrip.org to stay updated on the forecast and road conditions before traveling.
sedmondson@durangoherald.com
