With the past week’s snowfall, our cattle fence behind our home about a mile north of Hatcher Lake is almost buried!
Wednesday – 18 Jan. 2023 – 10:30am
The past…
At Stevens Field the high yesterday was 34 and the low this morning was 19 degrees. Humidity yesterday afternoon bottomed out at 87%. Winds at the airfield hit 23 mph yesterday.
Precipitation summary…It’s been snowing off/on since yesterday morning. 24-hr snow totals ranged from a high of 14 inches south of town off HWY 84 to 4 inches to our west, off HWY 160. Wolf Creek Ski Area received 16 inches of snow yesterday with a 48-hour storm total of 30 inches. Over the past week, Wolf Creek has measured 53 inches of snow!
Pagosa Springs historical data
| Average High | Record High / Year | Average Low | Record Low / Year |
| 38 | 53/ 1944 | 3 | -30/ 1984 |
Roof Avalanche Watch: OK, this is not an official alert from the NWS, but watch out for roof avalanches over the next few days as all of the snow we have had, settles and potentially slides off our roofs…especially for those of you who have metal roofs. Not only can sliding snow do a lot of damage, it can actually kill you!
Travel Disclaimer: While we would love to help you make decisions on whether to drive over the pass, plan your trip or predict if planes will be able to take off in Durango on a particular date, we don’t have the resources to do so…plus it puts us in potential legal liability if you go flying off Wolf Creek Pass when we suggested it would be a good day to travel! Please use these two links: New Mexico Road Conditions and Colorado Road Conditions. And this one for Durango Airport flight information.
Forecast discussion…
The low pressure has moved to our east, giving us some light snow this morning as wrap-around moisture streams in from the north. We should start clearing out later this afternoon as the low moves further east. Clear skies tonight will allow temperatures to drop into the single digits for most of our area. Clouds will move back in on Thursday as another low pressure moves into the SW, giving us additional chances for snow on Friday. This system has much less moisture with it, so snow totals will be light compared to our previous storms. After another break on Saturday, another weak system will move through on Sunday afternoon, giving us a chance for more light snow on Sunday and Monday.
The rest of today: Cloudy this morning with a chance for 1/2-1 inch more snow before the wrap-around moisture stops this afternoon and clouds begin to part. Highs will be in the upper 20’s to low 30’s. Lows tonight will drop into the low single digits to upper single digits.
Thursday-Friday: Increasing clouds with snow moving back in early Friday morning. Lows in the single digits and teens and highs in the upper 20s and low 30’s.
Saturday: Partly Cloudy with lows in the single digits to teens and highs in the upper 20’s to low 30’s. Perfect weather for the Winterfest Penguin Plunge at 1pm!
Sunday: Partly Cloudy in the morning, turning mostly cloudy in the afternoon with a chance for snow showers. Lows in the single digits to teens and highs in the upper 20’s to low 30’s
Snowfall forecast for Friday:
Valley: 1-3”
Mountains: 3-5”
Our 5-Day Forecast…
Check out my Pagosa Peak Cam (myearthcam.com) for watching hikers, bikers and of course, the weather.
-Mark Langford
