Rain and snow still not done yet

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) - The widespread mountain snow and valley rain from the opening half of the week is gone, but rain and snow are still not quite done with the Western Slope just yet.

Rest of Today

The morning started off with a little bit of snow falling over the Grand Mesa and the Book Cliffs while partly to mostly cloudy skies covered the rest of the region. Many of us will continue to see partly to mostly cloudy skies through the rest of the morning, then some spotty snow will start developing over the San Juan Mountains, the Elk Mountains, and the Grand Mesa by around and just after lunch time. That spotty snow becomes a bit more scattered around the rest of the region into the afternoon, and we could see a handful of showers in the valleys as well. It will not be as widespread as what we’ve already seen through the week, so not everyone will see rain or snow today. Rain and snow will start to wind down again through the evening and overnight hours, leaving us with partly to mostly cloudy skies to kick off our Friday.

Widespread Rain and Snow Returns Friday

Much of the morning on Friday will once again be dry with partly to mostly cloudy skies, then rain and snow starts developing once again by Friday afternoon. Rain and snow will once again be widely scattered across the region, but likely still not as widespread as what we’ve seen through the week. It will be our same old mountain snow, valley rain through the afternoon, then we could see valley rain transitioning over to snow as colder air moves into the region. For now it looks like most of the valley snow will fall between 6 PM and 9 PM Friday evening before most of the snow moves toward the Continental Divide overnight Friday night.

Snowfall Totals

As little as a trace to as much as 1 to 2 inches is expected across the valleys and other lower elevations of the Western Slope through Saturday morning. That includes Grand Junction, Delta, Montrose, Nucla, Dove Creek, and Cortez. Between 2 and 6 inches will fall across most of the Book Cliffs and northern mountains, most of the High Country, the Elk Mountains, the Uncompahgre Plateau, and the San Juan Mountains. The Grand Mesa will likely see the most snow, between 6 and 9 inches, but some totals closer to a foot of snow are still possible.

Drier and Cooler Weekend

Once we get Friday’s rain and snow out of here, most of the Western Slope should be pretty dry through the weekend. Some spotty snow is possible across some of the higher elevations, but most of us should be dry with partly and mostly cloudy skies. Temperatures will turn even cooler, with lows in the teens and 20s and highs in the middle to upper 30s and lower 40s.

Warming Up Next Week

Clouds decrease a bit and we’ll see a little more sunshine as a ridge passes overhead to start the new work week. We’ll lean closer toward mostly sunny and partly cloudy skies with highs warming into the middle and upper 50s in some locations by Wednesday afternoon.

Next 24 Hours

Clouds increase through the rest of the morning and into the early afternoon in Grand Junction, Delta, Montrose, and Cortez as temperatures climb into the middle and upper 40s. We’ll watch for some scattered showers through the afternoon and into the evening, but not everyone will see rain. Partly to mostly cloudy skies return tonight and into early Friday morning with lows in the middle to upper 20s to lower 30s. Clouds will increase once again through the day on Friday, then rain becomes a bit more widespread into the afternoon.

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