Saturday might have been the first day of winter 2025-26 some Durango residents shoveled snow.
Braeden Winters, meteorologist with the Grand Junction office of the National Weather Service, said Durango received about 3 to 4 inches of snow overnight.
He said a spotter for the NWS recorded about 4 inches of snow in Silverton as well.
The higher elevations on the north side of the San Juans received 10 to 15 inches and the south side of the San Juans received ranged from 6 to 10 inches, while the Columbus Basin northeast of Mancos received between 8 and 12 inches of snow, he said.
Wolf Creek Pass received about 6 inches of fresh snow.
Matt Ericksen, Purgatory Resort director of marketing, sales and events, said the winter storm dumped a foot of snow on the mountain as of 11 a.m. Saturday.
“The storm brought some good coverage that really complemented the conditions our teams have already been able to deliver across the mountain, but 12 inches of fresh snow definitely helps,” he said.
Guests at Purgatory were “stoked” for the fresh snow on Saturday, he said, crediting Mother Nature for generating excitement for the weekend.
He said the bulk of the storm had cleared up, although Purgatory’s forecasting models hinted that some more precipitation could occur Saturday and Sunday.
“I’ve been really proud at the conditions despite some of the natural snowfall this year,” he said. “... We were hoping this storm would materialize in the way that we thought it would, and I think it met our expectations on that, and exceeded expectations on some of the other forecast models that we’ve seen.”
The Colorado Department of Transportation announced Saturday morning U.S. Highway 550/Red Mountain Pass between Silverton and Ouray closed to travel at 10 a.m. to accommodate winter critical maintenance operations. Parking and recreation was prohibited during the closure.
“Travelers should also be aware that during the winter season, snow conditions may require additional maintenance work,” a CDOT news release said.
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center issued a news release warning about increasing avalanche danger across Colorado through the weekend.
The release said avalanche danger rose to level 3 – “considerable” – Friday night and remain elevated over the weekend for most of the San Juan Mountains, as well as for parts of the Front Range, Summit County, Vail and other areas.
“Last weekend, with just about 6 inches of new snow, we recorded 27 human-triggered avalanches statewide, and five people were caught in avalanches in the Northern Mountains,” Ethan Greene, CAIC director, said.
The United States is forecast to be slammed by “a significant, long-duration winter storm” that will deliver “widespread heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain from the Southern Rockies to New England through Monday,” an NWS advisory said.
But the forecast for Durango on Sunday and through the middle of next week is dry and sunny, Winters said. There may be slight chances for precipitation toward the end of next week, but overall, the region looks like it will settle back into a pattern of dryness.
He said it’s difficult to tell exactly how much the broader winter system had to do with the storm that arrived over the San Juans on Friday.
“We have another low pressure system further to our southwest, more over the Baja Peninsula area, and where we were placed under this very complex flow, we got some better moisture, some colder air that supported the snowfall that we got,” he said.
cburney@durangoherald.com
