Weather in Cortez and Southwest Colorado has been on somewhat of a roller-coaster ride of late. Longtime local weather observer James Andrus reports that October saw eight records set for new daily high temperatures in Cortez, as well as another six records tied. The heat wave came to an end in November, but so did a run of ample precipitation that had started in June. Before the storm that arrived Tuesday, November was what Andrus called a “shriveled” month, with just one-tenth of an inch of precipitation. He told KSJD November typically sees about an inch of precipitation, and the current storm is the only chance for rain or snow in Cortez this month. It remains to be seen how much moisture the storm will provide, but the San Juan Mountains were expected to be heaped with as much as three feet of snow. As of Nov. 24, the San Miguel-Dolores-Animas-San Juan watershed held 122 percent of the NRCS’s 1999-2020 median in snow-water equivalent. Over the next couple of weeks, the Four Corners area is likely to have somewhat better-than-average precipitation and somewhat colder-than-average temperatures, according to Accuweather.
The Montezuma County commissioners on Tuesday signed a law-enforcement contract between the sheriff’s office and the Town of Dolores for 2025. Administrator Travis Anderson told the board the sheriff’s office is to provide up to 80 hours of service a week for up to $275,000 annually. 2024 was the only year since 2015 when the town and sheriff’s office did not have such a contract.
