Winter weather returned to the mountains surrounding Pagosa Springs over the last week, with Wolf Creek Ski Area reporting 33 inches to date this season, including 9 inches from the last storm.
As of Tuesday, Nov. 25, the ski area reported the Raven, Treasure, Bonanza, Nova, Tumbler and Lynx lifts are operating daily from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., giving access to roughly 20 percent of the mountain.
Between Nov. 19 and Nov. 25, lower-elevation areas around Pagosa Springs received trace amounts of snow, according to the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS), with a site northeast of Pagosa Springs reporting 5 inches of snow.
Precipitation amounts reported around Pagosa Springs over that period ranged from .78 inches to 1.42 inches, according to CoCoRaHS data.
But there’s hope for more in the forecast with a storm expected to move into the area after Thanksgiving.
Pagosa Weather’s Shawn Prochazka notes in a Nov. 24 forecast “this will be a cold system with mostly snow!”
The National Weather Service forecasts the round of snow will move in around 11 p.m. on Saturday night, Nov. 29, with a low of around 17 degrees.
Snow showers are likely Sunday and Sunday night, according to the forecast, with a high near 38 and a low around 17.
The chance of snow showers continues Monday, with the high again expected to be near 38.
On Tuesday, AccuWeather stated the post-holiday storm could cause more widespread travel issues than the storm that hit the eastern half of the country ahead of Thanksgiving.
“A storm over the long holiday weekend is expected to spread snow from the Rockies on Friday to the Midwest on Saturday. Snow could reach parts of the interior Northeast on Sunday,” AccuWeather Vice President of Forecasting Operations Dan DePodwin said. “In many locations, such as Omaha, Des Moines, and Kansas City, this may be the first plowable snow event of the season, coinciding with a busy travel period. The first measurable snowfall of the season for Denver may finally arrive this weekend.”
randi@pagosasun.com
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