Snow also settled over Cortez and Mancos mid-morning and it picked up again around 4:30 p.m. In the morning, Cortez received a half inch within 20 minutes, Charnick said. The storm could deliver 1 to 3 inches of snow to the Cortez area, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not going to stick around for too long,\u201d Charnick said.<\/p>\n
The jet stream was pushing cold air from the Pacific Northwest, he said.<\/p>\n
The high Monday in Durango is expected to be 44 degrees and 50 degrees Tuesday. The high Monday in Cortez is expected to be 47 degrees.<\/p>\n
The snow is the first in a series of storms, Charnick said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole week there is going to be a few different waves of snow coming through,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The next best chance for snow will be Wednesday evening and Thursday morning. That storm could bring 6 to 10 inches of snow to higher elevations. Areas above 9,500 feet could see the heaviest accumulations. Lower elevations are likely to see rain, he said.<\/p>\n
Susan Lilly, public information officer with San Miguel County, reported multiple closures on Colorado Highway 145 late Monday morning, including a closure on Lawson Hill for a head-on, two-vehicle crash.<\/p>\n
Morning closures that extended into the early afternoon also occurred at the summit of Lizard Head Pass and from Deep Creek to Keystone. But by 2:30 p.m. traffic was open and flowing normally from Rico to Telluride, Lilly said.<\/p>\n
Lisa Schwantes, a spokeswoman with Colorado Department of Transportation, said spring road conditions change rapidly, and anyone planning to travel should check the CO trip.org for travel alerts<\/a>.<\/p>\n