The first rain and snow maker in a series of storms will arrive Tuesday night

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) - Our final week of 2022 will become active with rain and snow increasing and falling on-and-off into next year.

Winter Storm Warning

A Winter Storm Warning is in effect from 5 PM Tuesday until 5 AM Thursday for the Grand Mesa, Battlement Mesa, the Colorado National Monument, and the Uncompahgre Plateau, and also for the southern San Juan Mountains. Dangerous travel is expected in these areas due to heavy snow, gusty winds, and reduced visibility. Snow accumulation of 10-20 inches is expected with locally more than two feet.

Winter Weather Advisory

A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect from 11 PM Tuesday until 5 AM Thursday for the northern San Juan Mountains, the Bookcliffs, the Elk Mountains, the Sawatch Mountains, the Gore Mountains, and Flat Tops. Travel in these areas will be difficult or even dangerous due to heavy snow, gusty winds, and reduced visibility. Snow accumulation of 6-12 inches is expected with wind gusts over 35 mph.

Active Final Week of 2022

A powerful jet stream blowing over the Pacific Ocean will act as a conveyor belt to transport several storm systems in our direction. This will mean periods of rain and snow for Western Colorado starting Tuesday night and lasting into early next week. There can be breaks, but the rain and snow will be overall more on than off.

Our Next Weather Maker

Our first big round of messy weather will arrive on Tuesday night. A storm system moving ashore along the Pacific Coast will bring rain and mountain snow from Washington south through central California tonight. This is our next weather maker. It will track inland tonight and continue toward us on Tuesday. Occasional rain or snow showers are possible after 3 PM Tuesday in Western Colorado. Valley rain and mountain snow will increase quickly between 6 PM and midnight. It will fall throughout most of Wednesday with occasional breaks. Rain will change to snow and fall through Wednesday night, fading to an end by about 9-10 AM Thursday morning. The biggest snow accumulation will be in the mountains in the previously mentioned Winter Storm Warning and Winter Weather Advisory. More rain than snow will fall in the valleys, especially along Highway 50, but snow accumulation of up to 1-4 inches is possible after the rain changes to snow.

More Rain & Snow Into Next Week

A break from rain and snow will last through most of Thursday and Friday. Then wave of snow will arrive Friday night. Another wave will arrive Saturday afternoon, and still more snow will fall on Sunday, Sunday night, and Monday. Of course, changes are possible in this forecast. We’ll be fine tuning and updating things over the course of this week. Stay tuned and stay updated, but be ready for a messy final week of 2022.

Our Next 24 Hours

Tonight will be partly cloudy. Low temperatures will be near 28 degrees around Grand Junction, 27 degrees around Montrose, 28 degrees around Delta, and 25 degrees around Cortez. Tuesday will be sunny to start. Clouds will increase, and a few rain or snow showers are possible after about 3 PM. High temperatures will be near 47 degrees around Grand Junction, 49 degrees around Montrose, 46 degrees around Delta, and 52 degrees around Cortez. Valley rain and mountain snow will begin increasing across the Western Slope after about 6 PM.

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