GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) – Bitter cold is here. It will be brief, but it will be some of the coldest air we’ve experienced in about a year.
Deep Cold Tonight & Monday
Lows tonight will be in the single digits to barely-double-digits. Some sub-zero lows are possible in higher elevations like Glade Park, Cimarron, Aspen, Vail, and Telluride. Highs on Monday will barely be warmer than freeze, and that’s for those of us who actually warm above freezing. Not everyone will get there. The cold will begin relaxing on Tuesday, and more substantial warming will begin by Wednesday and Thursday when high temperatures will recover into the 40s and lows will climb into the teens area wide.
Avalanche Risk
Avalanche risk is high – a level 4 out of 5 – in the Elk Mountains between Aspen-Carbondale and Crested Butte-Gunnison. More than two dozen avalanches have been reported in this area just this weekend. Conditions are favorable for more avalanches large enough to bury people. Slopes steeper than 30 degrees are at highest risk of avalanches. That’s the highest risk. The risk is elevated on the Grand Mesa, in the San Juans, and the Gore Range near Vail.
Weather Alert: Winter Weather Advisory for Metro Denver
Anyone traveling home from Denver after the Broncos game this evening will have to contend with heavy snow. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect until 9 PM for Metro Denver and extends north along the Front Range. Snowfall amounts of 2-4 inches are expected with locally higher amounts in the hills west of the metro. Poor visibility can mean dangerous driving conditions at times.
Snow Fades Over the Mountains & Metro Denver
The heaviest snow will fall east of the Continental Divide – on the Denver side of the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnels on I-70. There can be some brief snow west of the Continental Divide, too. That snow will exit the Denver area and most of the High Country by 9 PM and move out to the Eastern Plains. It will end over the Plains by 3 AM, then the sun will come out across Colorado on Monday. Clouds will begin approaching the Western Slope by midnight from the west, then those clouds will clear Tuesday morning.
Our Next 24 Hours
This evening will be mostly clear. We’ll cool from mid-to-upper 20s at 6 PM to low-to-mid 20s at 8 PM, then to high teens and low 20s at 10 PM. The rest of tonight will be clear and cold. Low temperatures will be near 10 degrees around Grand Junction, 4 degrees around Montrose, 7 degrees around Delta, 3 degrees around Cortez, and 12 degrees around Moab. Some sub-zero lows are possible in higher elevations. Monday will be sunny and chilly. We’ll warm from low-to-mid teens at 7 AM to mid-to-upper 20s at noon, then to low-to-mid 30s at 3 PM. High temperatures will be near 35 degrees around Grand Junction, 32 degrees around Montrose, 36 degrees around Delta, 37 degrees around Cortez, and 39 degrees around Moab.
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