Multiple rounds of rain and snow continue through Wednesday

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) - A couple of rounds of rain and mountain snow moved through the Western Slope yesterday, and there even more rain and snow on the way through the middle of the week.

Timing

The morning started out foggy across the Grand Valley while things were dry and cloudy around the rest of the Western Slope. Rain and snow started developing over the southwest corner of the region right around sunrise, and that rain and and snow is expected to continue to move northward through the morning and into the afternoon. Valley rain and mountain snow should once again be falling just about all across the Western Slope by around 3 or 4 PM. Multiple waves of valley rain and mountain snow will roll across the region tonight, into early Wednesday morning, and through much of the day on Wednesday as well. Some of the rain and snow will be heavy at multiple occasions. Most of the rain and snow will start to wind down between 1 and 3 PM Wednesday afternoon, then we should be completely done with the rain and snow all across the region by around 10 PM to midnight Wednesday night.

Snowfall Totals

Montrose could potentially see just enough snow that they could squeeze out a trace to 1 inch of accumulations, but it’s not looking very likely at the moment. Grand Junction and Delta continues to look snow-free through early Thursday morning. 1 to 2 inches of snow is possible around Meeker, Rifle, Parachute, Paonia, and down into Cortez, while 2 to 4 inches of snow is possible in Gunnison and Glade Park. Snowfall totals will continue to climb as you head into the higher elevations. A foot of snow is possible around Vail, Aspen, and Telluride, and we could see snowfall approach 2 feet around Douglas Pass and Crested Butte. 2 feet or more of snow is likely atop the Grand Mesa and along the San Juan Mountains. Some of the highest elevations of the San Juan Mountains could see some totals of close to 3 feet of snow.

Travel Impacts

No real changes from yesterday regarding travel impacts around the region. Interstate 70 from the Utah state line to roughly De Beque and Parachute and Highway 50 from Grand Junction to Montrose will be wet, but not snowy or icy. Travel through the mountains, including Interstate 70 into Vail and Eisenhower Tunnel, Highway 65 across the Grand Mesa, Highway 139 through Douglas Pass, Highway 50 through Monarch Pass, and Highways 550 and 160 through the San Juan Mountains will be difficult to dangerous with heavy, potentially blowing snow leading to significantly reduced visibilities and rapidly-accumulating snow on the roads.

Late-Week Rain and Snow Chances

While the best chances of high-impact rain and snow wrap up Wednesday evening and night, additional smaller chances for scattered rain and snow continue through the rest of the week and into the weekend. Not everyone will see rain or snow, but several locations will at times between Thursday and Sunday.

Next 24 Hours

Waves of rain and snow will continue in Cortez from now until early Wednesday afternoon. Rain and maybe a few snowflakes will start falling in Montrose starting around 1 PM, then mostly rain starts up in Grand Junction and Delta by around 3 PM. Waves of mostly rain will continue to fall at times from then until Wednesday afternoon and evening. We’ll see cloudy skies when rain doesn’t fall with highs in the middle 40s this afternoon. Some snowflakes are possible, but not overwhelmingly likely overnight tonight as lows drop back down into the middle and upper 30s. Highs head for the upper 40s and lower 50s as we start to turn drier again by late Wednesday afternoon.

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