The Christmas Eve storm is expected to depart Montezuma County by Monday morning and be followed by a gradual warming trend.
The high temperature on Monday is forecast to be about 30 degrees, and about 40 degrees by Friday. Overnight lows for the week are expected to range from 9 degrees on Monday to about 22 on Friday. Sunny skies are forecast throughout the week, according to the National Weather Service.
Winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories were in effect for all the mountains of eastern Utah and Western Colorado until midnight on Christmas Day. The blustery Christmas Eve storm was expected to taper off on Sunday evening, after dumping 2-4 inches of snow in the Mancos, Dolores and Montezuma valleys.
On Sunday, driving conditions in Montezuma County at lower elevations on U.S. Highways 160 and 491 were mainly wet by noon, with some slushy and snowpacked stretches of road. Colorado Department of Transportation crews plowed and sanded U.S. 491 north of Dolores, where snowpacked and icy conditions prevailed from Arriola north to Dove Creek and Colorado 145 from Stoner north to Telluride.
Travel on U.S. 160 from Mancos to Hesperus on Saturday was slow, with about 3 inches of new snow on the highway. Motorists kept their speeds between 40 and 50 mph, driving through blowing snow and snowpack.
A Colorado State Patrol spokeswoman reported on Sunday afternoon that the day had been quiet in Montezuma County, with no major road accidents to report. She cautioned, however, that as temperatures fell on Sunday night, roads could become slippery.
The Hesperus ski area reported 9 inches of snow from the Christmas Eve storm, and was open on Christmas Day to skiers and sledders. By noon Sunday, about 20 kids were tubing on the sled slope. Telluride reported 11 inches of snow and a 43-inch base on Sunday. Wolf Creek ski area reported 10 inches of new snow and an 85-inch base, and Purgatory Resort reported 12 inches and a 50-inch base.
