The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for Saturday through Sunday evening and forecast snow accumulations of up to 14 inches in the San Juan Mountains and up to 10 inches in the La Garita Mountain range. The warning includes the towns of Telluride, Hesperus, Silverton and Ouray.
Motorists can expect an hourlong delay Saturday morning on U.S. Highway 160 at Wolf Creek Pass on Saturday morning as the Colorado Department of Transportation conducts avalanche control operations. CDOT plans to close the pass at 6:30 a.m. as crews trigger potential snow slides and then clear the roadway. U.S. Highway 160 at Wolf Creek Pass was closed at 6:30 a.m. Saturday morning while the Colorado Department of Transportation conducted avalanche control operations. It was open again by 8 a.m.
At lower elevations in Montezuma County, rain and snow showers are expected on Saturday, changing to blowing snow as temperatures fall on Christmas Eve. Up to 3 inches of snow is expected by noon on Christmas Day.
Christmas Day is expected to be cooler and windy, with a high in the upper 20s, and winds gusts of up to 65 mph.
Snow could start to fall Saturday afternoon, but likely won’t become heavy until the evening.
“The strongest or heaviest snow is expected overnight (Saturday),” according to Matthew Akeksa, of the National Weather Service office in Grand Junction.
The storm will bring low visibility and blowing snow over the mountain passes, he said.
According to the National Weather Service, winds could blow at 25 to 40 mph in the mountains, with gusts up to 65 mph over the weekend, making travel “extremely hazardous if not impossible due to visibility reduced to near zero at times and blowing and drifting snow.”
The storm system that arrived Thursday dropped about .4 inch of rain in the Cortez area, according to meteorologist Jim Andrus.
A third storm may come through the area Tuesday night and last through Wednesday, the weather service said in its Hazardous Weather Outlook.
On Thursday, snowfall began in the early morning at higher elevations while rain fell in Cortez. In Dolores and Mancos, wet snow began to fall by 7 a.m., and Hesperus was under a winter storm warning that covered a broader area including the San Juan Mountains, Telluride, Silverton and Ouray.
Andrus said the storm has brought the total precipitation for the month of December up to just over an inch, which is higher than normal. With another winter storm coming in over the weekend, he said it’s very likely Cortez will have a white Christmas.
“We’ve had two very good months with lots of precipitation,” he said, adding that a wet winter will bode well for farmers.
Skiers were enjoying fresh powder at area ski resorts.
Wolf Creek reported Friday that it received 20 inches of snow in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 73 inches at the summit.
“It’s really kind of a wet snow, it’s fast riding,” said Roseanne Pitcher, vice president of marketing and sales at Purgatory Resort.
Purgatory reported Friday that it received 12 inches in the past 24 hours, bring the total base depth to 42 inches.
“The conditions are fantastic, great skiing, great powder,” said Kim Oyler, a spokeswoman for the resort.
About 95 percent of the mountain is open and staff is opening more trails daily, she said.
The Colorado State Patrol reported multiple vehicles sliding off the road Thursday morning on U.S. Highways 491 and 160. Mesa Verde National Park reopened on Friday, after closing Thursday because of the storm.
Montezuma County Undersheriff Jim Kingery said drivers should be careful.
“I would advise people not to travel any more than they absolutely have to,” Kingery said. “Be aware that conditions can be slicker than what they look like.”