Quick warm-up before temperatures fall again with our next snowmaker

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) - A Winter Storm Watch goes into effect on Friday at midnight for Eagle, Garfield, Gunnison, and Pitkin counties. Heavy snowfall with this next system can bring low visibility and hazardous travel. Areas in the high country and higher elevations can expect to receive the bulk of the snowfall. Wind gusts can also reach up to 60 miles per hour in some locations, creating blowing snow conditions.

Today, we saw plenty of sunshine across most of the Western Slope, with some light cloud cover in some areas. Temperatures stayed in the lower 40s for both Grand Junction and Montrose. Clear skies will continue for the remainder of the day and into the overnight hours as temperatures fall into the twenty-degree range across most Western Slope.

Tomorrow, conditions will remain dry, and we will start the day with mostly clear skies and plenty of sunshine. It’s not until around the afternoon hours that cloud cover will begin to move in across the Western Slope. Even with partly sunny to overcast skies, conditions will remain dry for the rest of the day. Temperatures will become the warmest for many locations over the next seven days, with Grand Junction, Montrose, Delta, and Cortez staying in the lower 50s.

On Friday, the next snowmaker will arrive on the Western Slope in the morning as a cold front slowly moves through. Areas in the high elevations and the high country sitting along the Continental Divide will have the best chance of receiving snowfall. For our valleys, there is a chance that a few light showers can move through, along with a slight chance of a few flurries. Snowfall accumulations will vary as models suggest around 3-5 inches at most in the high country, while the higher elevations can have a better chance of receiving 5-8 inches. These accumulation amounts can change as we get closer to Friday. By the evening hours, after the front passes over the Western Slope, temperatures will fall back into the lower 40s for all four locations.

Over the weekend, temperatures will gradually warm up again into the upper 40s to lower 50s by Sunday, but the chances of snowfall remain. More specifically, areas in our mountains have the best chance of receiving snowfall, while most of our valleys will stay dry and sit under overcast skies. Then another cold front will move back across the Western Slope on Monday, bringing along rain and snow chances for our valleys, higher elevations, and the high country. Finally, temperatures will fall again before warming up, leading toward the middle of the workweek.

Meteorologist Chris Guevara

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