<\/p>\n
Cortez received 4.2 inches of snow from about 9 p.m. Monday to about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, and more powder is expected to move into Southwest Colorado on Wednesday and hang around until late Friday or early Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe storm moved more slowly than anticipated,\u201d said Cortez weather watcher Jim Andrus. \u201cWe were only forecast to get about an inch.\u201d<\/p>\n
The snow had perfect timing for Telluride Ski Resort, which opens for donation day Wednesday, when skiers can hit the slopes for a $25 donation that goes to the Telluride Ski and Snowboard Club.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt 10 a.m., we listed 14\u00bd inches of snow, and it\u2019s still snowing like crazy,\u201d said Nancy Clark, a spokeswoman for the resort. \u201cWe\u2019re expecting more snow in the weather report, so this week looks really great.\u201d<\/p>\n
Telluride Ski Resort\u2019s official opening, when it will begin accepting season passes, is Thanksgiving Day.<\/p>\n
Andrus said the 4.2 inches in Cortez put the city at 4.7 inches of snow for the month \u2013 1.9 inches, or 168%, above the 2.8 inches that is normal for November.<\/p>\n
For the season, Cortez has received 5.4 inches of snow, with the normal seasonal snow accumulation for the end of the month at 3.2 inches.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been dry since June. The monsoons didn\u2019t show up. There was a high-pressure system off the West Coast that diverted storms to the north, but that has broken done,\u201d Andrus said. \u201cMaybe we will be in for a good winter. It\u2019s a promising start.\u201d<\/p>\n
An even bigger storm system is expected to move into Southwest Colorado Wednesday night and bring snow through late Saturday morning.<\/p>\n
Durango received only a dusting by Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n
But this week, a winter storm is predicted to snarl regional holiday traffic with up to 30 inches of snow in the high country, said meteorologist Scott Stearns of the National Weather Service in Grand Junction<\/a> on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Up to 8 inches of snow is predicted to fall in Durango, he said.<\/p>\n The heaviest snowfall this week is expected Thanksgiving evening, Stearns said. The weather service issued a winter storm watch for the San Juan Mountains from 5 p.m. Wednesday to 5 p.m. Saturday.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s probably not the best idea to be traveling over the (mountain) passes with that kind of snowfall,\u201d he said, adding that Red Mountain and Wolf Creek passes could each get up to 30 inches of snowfall.<\/p>\n The Colorado Department of Transportation will \u201cvery likely\u201d implement traction and chain laws over mountain passes, said CDOT spokeswoman Lisa Schwantes.<\/p>\n There are \u201cbound to be some impacts\u201d at the Durango\/La Plata County Airport, said Aviation Director Tony Vicari. Both agencies plan to have employees working around the clock the next few days to ensure safe and efficient travel.<\/p>\n \u201cTypically, this 10-day period (around Thanksgiving) is the busiest finite period we see at the airport for local utilization \u2013 the parking lot is under highest level of demand,\u201d Vicari said. \u201cPassengers are encouraged to arrive early, check with airlines about delays and drive safely to get here.\u201d<\/p>\n CDOT likely will not treat highways with brine solution before the storm hits \u2013 work that keeps ice from bonding with the roadway, Schwantes said.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery storm is different, and we\u2019re certainly getting ready with our manpower and equipment with what has been forecast,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are at the mercy of Mother Nature. If snow accumulations happen too quickly, and crews can\u2019t keep up, there may be a possibility that we close the high mountain passes.\u201d<\/p>\n Purgatory Resort is scheduled to open Wednesday before Thanksgiving, an opening day delayed after above-average temperatures hindered mountain operations\u2019 snowmaking efforts. As of Tuesday morning, the resort has seen 18 inches of snow, according to its website.<\/p>\n Durango Herald Staff Writer Bret Hauff contributed to this report. parmijo@the-journal<\/em><\/p>\n The Colorado Department of Transportation reminds motorists to check for updated weather information: weather watcher: \u2018It\u2019s a promising start\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":91547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[13,28,88],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-91546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-headlines","tag-weather-news"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91546\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91546"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=91546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Travel information<\/h4>\n
\n Visit
\n www.cotrip.org<\/a>
\n for real-time road conditions, highway closures, average speeds, photos, live cameras streaming traffic, trucking information and more.
\n Call 511 to listen to recorded information about road conditions, projected trip travel times and trucker information.
\n Receive free email\/text alerts at
\n www.codot.gov\/travel<\/a>
\n ; choose from a list of subscription options at the \u201cget connected\u201d tab.
\n Follow @coloradodot on Twitter for traveler information and other news.
\n Like CDOT at
\n www.facebook.com\/coloradodot<\/a>
\n to receive news and traveler information.
\n Visit
\n www.codot.gov\/travel\/winter-driving<\/a>
\n to get information about road conditions, what to keep in a vehicle during the winter, how to safely pass a snowplow, commercial-vehicle requirements, seasonal closures, snow removal and avalanche control.
\n The Journal Staff<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"