First Alert: Rain & Mountain Snow Will Affect Travel Friday & Saturday

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) – Friday and Saturday are First Alert Weather Days. A Pacific storm system is likely to bring widespread rain to Colorado’s Western Slope and heavy snow to our mountains.

Our Next Weather Maker

The rain and mountain snow will begin increasing Friday afternoon, then rain and snow become likely Friday night through Saturday. Travel through the mountains will be dangerous at times with wind-blown snow reducing visibility to less than a quarter mile. The weather on the Western Slope will be more of an inconvenience-level impact as opposed to dangerous, but wet and slippery roads can certainly mean difficult travel at times.

Showers Increasing Thursday

Scattered showers will increase on Thursday ahead of the approaching storm system. Most of these rain and snow showers will be over the mountains, but a few of them can blow from the valleys to the mountains. Still, most areas of the valleys will stay dry on Thursday.

Rain & Snow Increase Friday Afternoon & Evening

Friday afternoon and Friday night come with increasing rain over the Western Slope and snow over the mountains. Rain and mountain snow will fall throughout Friday night, Saturday, and Saturday night. There can be occasional breaks, but we’re all fair game for the rain – with that snow over the mountains – for the entire period of time. Rain can fall heavily at times, and you may even see some occasional lightning and hear some thunder.

Expected Rainfall For Western Colorado

Rainfall across the Western Slope can be as high as a half inch to an inch total through Sunday. The rain won’t be evenly distributed, so while some areas may get between a half inch and an inch of rain, other areas may get less than a tenth of an inch. So we aren’t all guaranteed to get the high end of the rainfall potential.

Expected Snowfall For the Mountains

Snow over most mountain areas will generally be 5-10 inches with some local variation possible. As little as an inch or two will fall on the Uncompahgre Plateu. Up to a foot is possible in localized cases from the Elks to the Gore Range and the Sawatch Range. As much as one to two feet of snow can fall along the northern Front Range around areas like Winter Park, Granby, Estes Park, Breckenridge, and Rocky Mountain National Park.

Our Next 24 Hours

This evening will be mostly clear and warm. We’ll cool from upper 70s and lower 80s at 6 PM to low-to-mid 70s at 8 PM, then to mid-to-upper 60s at 10 PM. The rest of tonight will be mostly clear. Low temperatures by morning will be near 52 degrees around Grand Junction, 48 degrees around Montrose, 46 degrees around Delta, and 40 degrees around Cortez. Thursday will be mostly cloudy and cooler. A few showers are possible, mostly over the mountains. We’ll warm from mid-to-upper 50s at 8 AM to upper 60s and lower 70s at noon, then the afternoon will gradually cool. High temperatures will be near 73 degrees around Grand Junction, 68 degrees around Montrose, 73 degrees around Delta, and 64 degrees around Cortez.

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