A small snow storm moved into the Four Corners area on New Year’s Eve, and is expected to stick around for the rest of the weekend.
Snow started falling all over Montezuma County early Saturday morning, and the National Weather Service predicted about an inch would accumulate in Cortez by the end of the day. Temperatures were expected to reach a high of 36 degrees during the day, with a low of 22 degrees as midnight approaches. The NWS is predicting chances of rain and snow through Thursday.
A winter weather advisory was issued for the county just before 11 a.m. on Saturday. According to the NWS, 2 to 6 inches of snow are expected by 11 p.m. in areas above 6,500 feet, with reduced visibility and snow-packed roads in Cortez and other nearby towns.
Dennis Phillips, a meteorologist at the NWS office in Grand Junction, said the snow is likely to keep falling heavily until around midnight, but he doesn’t expect much accumulation.
“There’s a heavier snow band heading through the area, but temperatures are warming up,” he said. “Most of it probably won’t stick.”
Higher elevations, like the ski areas around Hesperus, may get 2-5 inches over the holiday.
Acccording to the Colorado Department of Transportation, roads were icy in places on Wolf Creek and Lizardhead passes, but road conditions were generally good in the Four Corners area as of 10 a.m. on Saturday. Still, visibility was poor, and Phillips said the wet roads could become more icy after dark. He reminded drivers to be cautious.
“Watch for snowpacked roads, obviously, but even if it just looks wet, if the temperature is below freezing, it could be ice,” he said.
The snow is expected to give way to cloudy skies by midnight, with a 60 percent chance of more snow Sunday morning. Slight chances of snow are predicted to continue through Thursday.