A winter storm moving across the Southwest could dump up to a foot of snow in the San Juan Mountains, bringing precipitation to the Four Corners area of Colorado for the first time in December.
A winter weather advisory is in effect 3 p.m. Thursday through midnight Friday.
Moderate to heavy snow was expected Thursday night and Friday morning, with 4 to 8 inches accumulating at lower elevations in the San Juans and a up to a foot near Wolf Creek Pass.
Nighttime temperatures were expected to fall into the teens.
Precipitation would provide welcome relief to a wide area in the grip of an extended drought.
Southwest Colorado and most of the Western Slope is in “exceptional” drought, the worst of five levels of drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Most of Utah and Arizona also were in exceptional drought.
For the Cortez area, precipitation is at 44% of normal for the year, said Jim Andrus, a weather observer for the National Weather Service.
As of November, Cortez had received 5.18 inches of precipitation for the year, Andrus said. The average year-to-date precipitation is 11.69 inches by the end of November.
Other parts of the Southwest got a slight reprieve this week after going much of the year without a drop of rain.
Phoenix recorded 0.01 inch of rain by midnight Wednesday, the city’s first rain in 110 days, according to Accuweather. Yuma went 242 days without rain until early Thursday morning, when it received 0.09 inch.
The Four Corners forecastThe National Weather Service in Grand Junction forecast a chance of rain for Montezuma County Thursday afternoon, a 50% chance of snow after 4 a.m. Friday and a 40% chance of snow after 11 a.m. Saturday.
Overnight low temperatures were expected to drop from 27 degrees Thursday to 18 degrees Friday and to 14 degrees Saturday. Daytime highs also were expected to drop, from 44 degrees on Friday to 35 degrees by Saturday.
In La Plata County, snow showers, possibly mixed with rain, are likely to begin Thursday evening, strengthen Friday morning, and taper off Saturday.
Less than an inch of snow was expected to accumulate both Thursday and Friday, the weather service said.
Temperatures were expected to drop to 20 degrees Thursday night and to 15 Friday night. Daily highs also were expected to fall, from a high of 47 degrees on Thursday to a high of 36 by Saturday.
