Weather fit for festival

No more snow expected until next week
by Ann Butler/Herald Staff Writer




Photo by JERRY McBRIDE/Herald
From left, Aliyah Candelaria-Brugh, 7, and Lucius Anthony, 7, have some fun after school Monday sliding down a 20-foot pile of snow at Needham Elementary School. Aliyah is the daughter of Joey Brugh and Barney Siegel, and Lucius is the son of Carole Nighswander.




It's unlikely snow will be falling during this year's Snowdown "In Da Nile," but temperatures will be quite a bit chillier than in the Land of the Pharaohs.

"We're heading for another dry spell down south," said Norv Larson, a meteorologist in the Grand Junction office of the National Weather Service. "You probably won't see any more snow until mid to late next week."

Fortunately, the storm front that passed through the area Monday dropped 11 inches in the previous 48 hours on Purgatory Mountain at Durango Mountain Resort, said Liz Witte, communications manager at DMR.

"It's almost deceiving in town," she said Monday afternoon, "because it isn't snowing down here. I woke up this morning and saw we had 11 inches and went 'Yeah.'"

Larson thought DMR might get another 2 to 4 inches from the storm. As of Monday, the midway depth was 57 inches.

"There's a trough drifting down from the northwest," he said. "It looks like the storm and snowfall will move along the northwest face of the San Juan Mountains, maybe just a little over the top of Red Mountain Pass."

The Colorado Department of Transportation had declared restrictions on Coal Bank, Molas and Red Mountain passes Monday evening. All vehicles were required to have four-wheel drive, chains or snow tires. Wolf Creek was only restricted for wide loads.

Wolf Creek Ski Area had received 7 inches in the previous 48 hours as of Monday, and Larson thought that might be all it gets. Wolf Creek was reporting 87 inches Monday.

Temperatures, however, are likely to remain low as a front from the north follows Monday's storm. The weather service is predicting tonight's low at 4 degrees, with daytime temperatures in the 30s until Friday, when lower elevations will warm up to the 40s for the weekend. Low temperatures probably will remain in the teens until Sunday night.

The weather service recommends that motorists check road and weather conditions before traveling.

abutler@durangoherald.com