THE NEXT WINTER STORM TAKES AIM ON WESTERN COLORADO AND EASTERN UTAH FOR CHRISTMAS EVE...POSSIBLY EXTENDING INTO CHRISTMAS DAY
THE THREAT OF SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL WILL BE ON THE INCREASE EARLY NEXT WEEK AS ANOTHER STRONG PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM MOVES ACROSS THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST. THERE WILL BE TWO WEATHER SYSTEMS THAT WILL IMPACT THE REGION...ONE ON SUNDAY FOLLOWED BY A BIGGER STORM ON MONDAY THAT MAY LINGER INTO CHRISTMAS DAY.
ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING...THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF SNOW OVER THE HIGH COUNTRY THAT AFFECTS MOUNTAIN PASSES. EARLY INDICATIONS SUGGEST THAT SNOWFALL WILL BE LIGHT AND RANGE FROM 2 TO 4 INCHES MAINLY ABOVE 8000 FEET.
THE STRONGER WINTER STORM ARRIVES MONDAY AFTERNOON AND DEPARTS THE REGION ON CHRISTMAS DAY. THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL IS PROJECTED TO OCCUR ON CHRISTMAS EVE. THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR WIDESPREAD SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...POSSIBLY HEAVY SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS. TARGET AREAS ALSO INCLUDE THE LOWER ELEVATIONS AND DESERT VALLEYS OF WESTERN COLORADO AND EASTERN UTAH. THE INTERSTATE 70 CORRIDOR COULD BE AFFECTED BY THE INCREASING THREAT OF SNOW.
THERE REMAINS SOME UNCERTAINTY ON THE EXACT TIMING AND SNOW AMOUNTS FOR EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. CONFIDENCE IS RISING THAT SNOW WILL OCCUR ACROSS A BROAD AREA THAT WILL IMPACT TRAVEL.
MONITOR THE LATEST STATEMENTS AND FORECASTS THROUGH LOCAL MEDIA...THE GRAND JUNCTION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEB SITE AT WWW.WEATHER.GOV/GJT...AND OUR FACEBOOK PAGE.