Cortez is digging out after storms dumped more than a foot of snow on the area earlier this week.
About 25.5 inches of snow has fallen so far this month, and the normal for January is 9 inches, according to local meteorologist Jim Andrus.
The winter storm warning for Southwest Colorado expired at 6 p.m. Tuesday after two storms left a total of 16 inches of snow in Cortez starting Friday night. From 3-6 p.m. Tuesday, snow fell at a rate of almost an inch per hour, Andrus said.
Sunny skies are expected today through Sunday, with daytime high temperatures rising to 34 by Sunday. Lows were expected to about 5 degrees on Thursday and Friday, rising to about 17 on Sunday.
“It looks like we’ll get a break from the snow, and have some time to shovel out,” Andrus said Tuesday night.
A high pressure system will move over the area, leading to warmer temperatures over the weekend and into next week, Andrus said Thursday. He said he measured 8 inches on the ground Thursday morning, as the sun had already started melting the snow.
The storm blanketed the Four Corners area in wet, heavy snow on Tuesday, closing mountain passes and delaying classes in Cortez and Dolores. Cortez and Mancos basketball teams had road games on Tuesday and Wednesday night, but they were canceled.
Andrus said it was the wettest January he’s ever recorded for the area in the 18 years since he’s kept records. Normal precipitation for January is .88 inches, but just under 3 inches has accumulated since the first of the year, he said. That’s more than 300 percent of normal, he added.
On Tuesday, the Colorado Department of Transportation reopened Coal Bank and Molas passes, on U.S. Highway 550 north of Durango, but required chains on commercial vehicles and vans with a capacity of 16 people or more. Red Mountain Pass, which had been closed since Monday because of an avalanche, reopened about 5 p.m. Wednesday. No vehicles or people were involved in the slide, CDOT said.
Lizard Head Pass, on Colorado Highway 145 between Dolores and Telluride, reopened Tuesday afternoon after crews worked to reduce the risk of avalanches, but CDOT said a chain law was in effect for all commercial vehicles. Wolf Creek Pass on U.S. Highway 160 also was reopened, with a chain law in effect.
Mesa Verde National Park was closed Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday due to heavy snowfall and road conditions in the park.
Montezuma County Road and Bridge Superintendent Rob Englehart said at 10 a.m. Tuesday that all 24 snow-removal vehicles in the county fleet were out working, including 12 plows and 12 road graters.
“It’s snowing so hard we can’t keep up,” he said.
County crews were seeing white-out conditions on some roads, especially in the northern part of the county, near Pleasant View and Lewis-Arriola.
Road crews started clearing roads late Monday afternoon and resumed at 4 a.m. Tuesday, he said. The county does not typically close roads, and none were closed as of 10 a.m. Tuesday, he said.
In Cortez, all six plows were out clearing streets Tuesday, said Public Works administrative assistant Dona Thompson.
“We’re hitting them with everything we’ve got,” she said.
The Colorado Emergency Operations Center activated Tuesday afternoon to assist Dolores County, according to the state’s website.
Public information officer Micki Trost said the state government was working with CDOT and local officials to bring more equipment to the county for snow removal.
“We would urge people to follow the direction of local public safety and emergency response officials,” Trost said. “Know where they’re sharing information for updates.”
The Cortez Municipal Airport was still operating as normal as of 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Airport Manager Russ Machen said. Crews were working to keep the taxiways and ramps clear, he said. There were some flight delays in Denver due to weather, affecting flights to Cortez, he said.
Both Telluride and Purgatory ski resorts reported a foot of snow in the last 48 hours, according to online snow reports. As of 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Telluride reported a base snow depth of 65 inches, with 14 of 16 lifts open and all but five trails open. Tuesday’s forecast at Telluride called for a high of 19 degrees and a low of minus 4, with 5-10 mph winds.
Purgatory reported a base depth of 78 inches at 11 a.m. Tuesday, and all 94 trails on the mountain were open. Purgatory’s forecast predicted a high around 18 degrees and a low around 5 degrees, with 4-11 mph winds.
Hesperus Ski Area reported a base depth of 55 inches with 4 inches of new snow in the last 24 hours, as of 11:15 a.m. Tuesday. All 26 trails on the hill were open. The forecast called for a high around 22 degrees with a low around 7 degrees, with 4-17 mph winds.
The runway at the Durango-La Plata County Airport was closed Tuesday morning after a cargo plane “exited the runway” on takeoff Monday night, said Tony Vicari, interim director of the airport. The airport reopened about 10 a.m. Tuesday, according to a tweet from the city of Durango.
The plane, a twin-engine turboprop for Alpine Air, which is a contractor for United Parcel Service, left the runway about 7 p.m. It came to rest about 50 feet off the runway, Vicari said.
“My understanding is it never left the ground,” he said, adding that “We haven’t had a single aircraft operation since 7 p.m. yesterday (Monday) when this occurred.”
The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate why the Beechcraft C99 left the runway. It would be premature to say the aircraft slid off the runway, he said. The aircraft was removed Monday night.
