The Grinch and Max are happy about the snow! – pic taken 12/23/2023
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Saturday – 23 Dec 2023 – 12:30pm
The past…
At Stevens Field the high temperature yesterday afternoon was 40. The low this morning was 22.
The peak wind at Stevens Field yesterday afternoon was 6mph.
| Average High | Record High / Year | Average Low | Record Low / Year |
| 38 | 56 / 1906 | 4 | -28 / 1990 |
Precipitation summary… Snow levels were a couple of hundred feet lower than I expected but temps were above freezing which resulted in heavy wet snow that struggled to accumulate.
Wolf Creek reported 8” of new snow this morning. CoCoRaHS reports are below.
If this system had been colder, most of us would have received 4-6″ of snow.
A BIG THANKS to everyone for your reports!
Forecast discussion…
Forecast Highlights…
*** Scattered showers through Saturday evening and then just a few spotty showers Sunday. ***
*** Travel over Wolf Creek Pass will be sketchy through Sunday evening. ***
*** The Grand Junction NWS has issued a WINTER STORM WARNING for the southwest San Juan Mountains. The warning is valid until 5am Sunday. This does not include Pagosa Springs. ***
*** The Colorado Avalanche Information Center has issued a SPECIAL AVALANCHE ADVISORY for our mountains. The avalanche threat is rated “considerable”. Dangerous conditions will persist through the weekend. ***
Rest of Saturday through Sunday night… We’ll catch the northern edge of the main low as it slides south of us this afternoon. Later tonight we’ll catch the tail-end of a secondary trough as it moves east through Colorado. Storm ingredients are marginal, so I just expect scattered showers.
Fog could develop tonight and then again Sunday night in the low-lying areas.
Timing… Precip will be scattered into Saturday evening and become even more hit and miss on Sunday.
Snow levels… At noon on Saturday the snow level is around 7,700ft and will gradually drop to 7,500ft by sunset. As snow levels drop farther Saturday night, moisture and precip will decrease.
Snow amounts to Sunday at 8am…
Valley: a dusting to 2”
Mountains: 3-6”
Snow amounts Sunday 8am to Monday at 8am…
Valley: a dusting in a few lucky spots
Mountains: up to an inch
Winds… Peaks will be 10-15mph
Temps… Saturday highs will be in the mid to high 30s lows will be in the mid-teens to mid-20s. Highs Sunday will be in the low to high 30s and lows will be in the negative single digits to low teens.
Snow across the northern and central mountains, and the eastern Plains will increase as the secondary trough moves through Colorado tonight.
Christmas Day through Friday… A spotty snowshower or two is possible over the mountains on Christmas Day, but I don’t expect any snow to accumulate.
Ridging will build over the region during the middle of the week and give us lots of sun and light winds. Temps will be below average Monday and Tuesday, and then near seasonal averages the second half of the week.
Winds… Peaks Monday and Tuesday afternoons will be 10-15mph. Wednesday and Thursday peaks will be 5-10mph.
Temps… Highs on Christmas and Tuesday will be in the high 20s to mid-30s and lows will be in the negative single digits to low teens. Highs Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday will be in the mid-30s to low 40s and lows will be in the high single digits to high teens.
My next post will be tomorrow.
– Shawn
