We love it when we need snowshoes to measure snow!… Pic taken 12/28/2021
Wednesday – 29 Dec 2021 – 9:20am
The past…
At Stevens Field the high temp in the last 24 hours was 28 and the low was 24. The peak wind at the airfield was 17mph and we hit 25mph in O’Neal Park.
Wolf Creek Pass was closed this morning for avalanche mitigation but has opened again. More closures are possible through New Year’s morning. Keep an eye on COtrip for the latest travel conditions: COtrip web page

Precip in the last 24 hours… Wolf Creek reported 22” of new snow in the last 24 hours and 40” in the last 48 hours. They now have 82” of snow in the last week! They will end this storm cycle with over 100”!

Forecast discussion…
We’ll get a brief break today with intermittent light snow between systems and then the final system with a round of decent snow will push through by New Year’s morning. Then I expect at least a 3 or 4 day break and maybe longer.


My forecast…
Through this evening… We’ll get a little break with scattered snowshowers and intermittent light snow. Highs will be in the mid-20s to lower 30s and lows will be 10 to 20. Winds will peak less than 20mph.
Snowfall during this period…
– Valley: up to 1” and it will be spotty
– Mountains: 2-4”
*** There is still a WINTER STORM WARNING for the eastern San Juan Mountains above 10,000ft valid until 11am. ***
*** The Colorado Avalanche Information Center has issued an AVALANCHE WATCH valid until tomorrow morning at 8am. *** Avalanche conditions will remain very dangerous through New Year’s.
Wednesday night through New Year’s morning… Intermittent light snow will fall Wednesday night and during the day Thursday in the valley and fall more steadily in the mountains. The heaviest snow will fall Thursday night and Friday. Then snowshowers will gradually taper off Friday night. Snowshowers will end in the valley by sunrise on New Year’s and linger until noon in the mountains.
Winds will peak around 30mph Thursday night and into Friday afternoon in the valley and around 50mph in the mountains.
High temps will be in the upper 20s to lower 30s. Lows Thursday night will be in the upper teens to mid-20s and then Friday night 0 to 15.
Snowfall during this period…
– Valley: 10-18”
– Mountains: 20-30”
*** The Grand Junction NWS has issued a WINTER STORM WATCH for the southwest San Juan Mountains valid Wednesday evening through late Friday night. It’s for 12-24” of snow with localized amounts up to 3ft and winds to 40mph. *** I think winds to 50mph are more likely. This will be upgraded to a warning at some point.
*** As of 9am Wednesday morning, there are no watches, warnings, or advisories for the San Juan Basin and Pagosa Springs. I expect the NWS to issue an advisory or warning at some point. ***



New Year’s afternoon through Monday… We’ll see mostly sunny skies. Patchy morning fog is possible in the low lying areas.
Temps will start well below average on Saturday and then warm to average by Monday. Highs on Saturday will be in the 20s, on Sunday in the upper 20s to lower 30s, and on Monday in the 30s. Lows Saturday night will be -10 to 5, Sunday night -5 to 10, and Monday night 0 to 15.
Pagosa Springs historical data
Average High | Record High / Year | Average Low | Record Low / Year |
36 | 55 / 1956 | 1 | -26 / 1966 |
Call 877-841-0247 for our “dial up and text” forecast.
On the 1st, I‘ll include a storm cycle summary in my daily post. I’ll also do a separate post to summarize December and provide a January outlook.
My next post will be tomorrow morning.
– Shawn