Our oddly wet June weather is expected to continue with a rain system moving over the Southwest Colorado beginning Friday night and extending into Saturday.
The system will contain enough moisture that the National Weather Service expects to issue warnings for the potential of localized flooding, especially over the 416 Fire burn scar in the San Juan National Forest.
“It will depend how the storm comes in and if it is heavy over the burn scar,” said Matthew Aleska, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction.
Durango could see anywhere from three-tenths of an inch to a half inch of rain by the time the storm clears out Saturday afternoon, Aleska said. Silverton is expected to receive about three-quarters of an inch or more.
“Silverton could see an inch,” he said.
Rain could linger longer in the high country Saturday, but skies at lower elevations should be clearing Saturday afternoon.
“We’re looking at widespread rain. It will begin Friday night, but the heaviest rain will likely fall Saturday morning. It will be similar to a monsoon storm with moisture coming up from the southwest,” Aleska said.
Currently, the storm is stuck over California, but high pressure over the Four Corners will move east Friday, allowing the storm to move out of neutral and come inland.
Like earlier this week, the pattern is similar to monsoon storms that usually begin in early July.
Unfortunately, unlike the typical monsoon system, no follow-up rains are in the forecast.
Aleska said after this system moves out Saturday afternoon, no chance of rain is in the short-term forecast.
A dry system is expected to move over Southwest Colorado on Monday, and it should keep temperatures below normal for Monday and Tuesday – in the low 70s for Durango and Cortez and the low 60s in the high country.
parmijo@durangoherald.com