Summit County Citizens Voice

Coming week looks dry and warm

Most of the moisture in the jet stream is diving south of Colorado.

SUMMIT COUNTY — The latest storm to roll through the Rockies delivered plenty of snow to the San Juans — as promised — but didn’t do a whole lot to boost the dwindling snowpack in the central and northern mountains, where only a few inches were reported.

After cool temps Monday and Tuesday, highs could climb back into the upper 50s by mid week at valley elevations in the high country, with above-normal readings likely through next weekend. Spring has sprung.

Both Telluride and Wolf Creek did well with the southerly flow, picking up about a foot of snow, while Silverton reported 14 inches. Crested Butte and Vail reported 5 inches, with three inches around Aspen.

Perhaps more significantly, the storm brought another significant deposition of desert dust to at least some parts of the high country. According to early reports, dust was reported in the Summit County zone by backcountry observers, said Colorado Avalanche Information Center forecaster Scott Toepfer.

Based on the wind direction, the Sawatch Range may have also seen a dust event. It’s not clear yet whether the San Juans also saw a dust event, Toepfer said, adding the observations are still trickling in.

The storm was the fifth dust event of the season, according to the Silverton-based Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies, where researchers have been conducting ground-breaking research on how the dust layers affect everything from avalanche danger to high alpine tundra ecosystems.

The storm is now wobbling around the Southern Plains and may bring some wrap-around moisture to the northern mountains with some thunder snow possible Monday afternoon. Heavy bursts of snow could drop as much as 1 to 3 inches in some spots before the system moves east on Tuesday, bringing a return to dry and mild conditions for the rest of the week.

This time, the highest winds were reported on the eastern plains, where DIA reported a 55 mph gust and Akron reported a 66 mph gust.

The storm was preceded by record high temps in Denver, where the thermometer reached 76 degrees Sunday (March 18) breaking to old 75-degree record set in 1975. Another record was set Friday (March 16), when the 75-degree reading broke the record set just last year.

Filed under: climate and weather, Colorado, seasons, Summit County snow and weather, Weatherblog Tagged: | Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies, Colorado record temperatures, Colorado weather, dust on snow