Main snowfall event arriving on Monday

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) - Quiet conditions persisted throughout most of the Western Slope today but not everywhere experienced the same conditions. From the morning and into the afternoon hours, areas in the high country along the I-70 corridor saw snowfall, most from Friday nights event. Some light lingering snowfall will focus mainly on the mountains for the remainder of the day, but some can still work their way back into the high country. Tonight for Grand Junction and Montrose, cloud cover will move back in, leading to overcast skies as temperatures will sit in the lower twenties into the upper teens.

For Sunday, January 29, conditions will be similar throughout most of the day. Our valleys will continue to experience dry conditions, and our mountains and the high country could see light snow showers throughout the day. Temperatures will sit in the upper thirties again for Grand Junction and Montrose. However, snowfall will move back from the northwestern portion of the state towards the nighttime hours. It will be the slow start of the following significant snowfall event.

On Monday, January 30, snowfall will start for the Northern portion of the state. Areas like Steamboat Springs and Craig will get moderate to heavy snowfall rates during the morning hours. For Grand Junction, we could see a rain and snow shower mix before the cold front moves through, and we start seeing that transition into snowfall around the afternoon and evening hours. Snowfall will continue to move southward into the San Juans, where most of the cutoff line will be.

Snowfall can push near the Four Corners and Cortez, but because of the placement of our jet stream, most of the snowfall will stay in and north of the San Juans before traveling eastward. The cold front will also drop temperatures across the Western Slope, where Grand Junction will sit in the lower thirties and Montrose in the mid-thirties.

Snowfall accumulation will range from a couple of inches in the valleys, four to six in the San Juans, and six to nine in the High Country. However, for Steamboat Springs, totals can range from twelve to sixteen inches of snowfall. In addition, snowfall can be higher or lower than the ranges listed. The highest snowfall totals asides from the mountains will sit north of I-70.

On Tuesday, January 31, conditions will stay mostly dry for our valleys while there can be some residual snowfall for the high country and in the mountains. Temperatures will fall for Montrose again into the lower thirties, while Grand Junction will not see any change.

By Wednesday, February 1, conditions will be dry across the state. Cloud cover will continue to hang across the Western Slope, but temperatures will start the subsequent warming trend. For Grand Junction and Montrose, temperatures will rise back into the mid-thirties, and into the start of the weekend, temperatures will continue to warm up to the lower forties.