Wolf Creek reported a storm total of 21” as of 11:10am Sunday. They plan to open on Tuesday! – Web cam capture 10/20/2024 at 4:28pm
If images fail to load in the email, please click the title of the post. Thanks!
Sunday – 20 Oct 2024 – 5:00pm
The past…
At Stevens Field the high temperature Saturday was 56. The low this morning was 34.
The peak wind at Stevens Field on Saturday was 32mph.
| Average High | Record High / Year | Average Low | Record Low / Year |
| 61 | 77 / 1991 | 25 | 10 / 1946 |
Precipitation summary… Bands of showers and an occasional thunderstorm continue to move through the area. The snow level stayed around 10,000ft.
As of 11:10am Sunday, Wolf Creek reported 21” for the storm total and plans to open about 30% of the terrain on Tuesday, 22 Oct.
Forecast discussion…
Forecast highlights…
*** Bands of showers and thunderstorms through Sunday evening. ***
*** The WINTER STORM WARNING for the eastern San Juan Mountains above 10,000ft has been extended to 9pm Sunday. ***
*** The Grand Junction NWS has issued a FREEZE WARNING for the San Juan River basin. A hard freeze is expected. The valid time is 10pm Sunday to 9am Monday. ***
Rest of Sunday into Monday morning… The low pressure is near the Four Corners and will slide a little to our north late Sunday evening. It will continue to push bands of showers and thunderstorms through Pagosa Country.
Precip will be heavy at times. All types of precip are possible: rain, snow, graupel, and small hail.
Late Sunday evening showers will taper off over the valley, and then over the mountains after midnight.
Monday morning thick fog and poor visibility are possible in low-lying areas.
Snow levels…
Sunday afternoon: around 9,000ft
Sunday evening: 8000-8,500ft
Additional snow amounts:
Mountains above 9,000ft: 2-5”
Valley above 8,000ft: up to a half inch
Valley below 8,000ft “rainflakes” – no accumulation
Winds… Gusts mostly in the 15-20mph range but stronger gusts are likely near showers and thunderstorms.
Temps… Sunday night lows will be in the low to high 20s.
Monday through Saturday… Ridging will build back over the region. We’ll have lots of sun, dry weather, and temps will rebound back towards seasonal averages.
Winds… Afternoon peaks will be around 15mph.
Temps… Monday highs will be in the low to high 50s and lows will be in the high teens to high 20s. Tuesday highs will be in the high 50s to mid-60s and lows will be in the low 20s to low 30s. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday highs will be in the low 60s to low 70s and lows will be in the mid-20s to mid-30s.
The 8-14 day period… Ridging will be in control and give us lots of sun, dry weather, and seasonal temps. A frontal system could move through Colorado 30-31 Oct. If the system sinks far enough south, we’ll get some precip. If it stays farther north, we’ll hardly get anything.
The next forecast post will be on Monday, and it will include a storm summary.
– Shawn
