Weather - The Durango Herald

Winter storm blesses Durango with modest 4 inches of snow

Purgatory receives a foot of powder, skiers ‘stoked’

DATE: Jan 24, 2026 | CATEGORY: Local News

Winter storm could bring heavy snow to San Juan Mountains

Travel expected to be hazardous Friday night into Saturday

DATE: Jan 22, 2026 | CATEGORY: Local News

Photos: Ice fishing tournament canceled at Vallecito Reservoir

DATE: Jan 15, 2026 | CATEGORY: Local News

Snow returns to Southwest Colorado

Mountains could see several inches; dry, warm weather to follow

DATE: Jan 5, 2026 | CATEGORY: Local News

More rain, not snow, expected early next week in lower parts of Southwest Colorado

Don’t panic just yet, meteorologist says: Snowpack is doing OK

DATE: Jan 2, 2026 | CATEGORY: Local News

Warm weather boosts fishing, hurts skiing and water reserves in Southwest Colorado

Outdoor, tourism sectors feel effects of mild season

DATE: Dec 30, 2025 | CATEGORY: Local News

Durango flirts with record warm temperatures Christmas Day

More precipitation – not necessarily snow – due in coming weeks

DATE: Dec 25, 2025 | CATEGORY: Local News

Will this week’s storm bring Durango a white Christmas?

Warm system expected to bring rain to valleys, snow to higher elevations

DATE: Dec 22, 2025 | CATEGORY: Local News

What does recent dry spell mean for snowpack and winter forecast?

‘I actually have a lot of hope still for this year,’ forecaster says

DATE: Dec 20, 2025 | CATEGORY: Local News

Hurricane-force wind downs power lines, fans wildfires in Colorado

FORT COLLINS – Crews were mopping up Thursday but still bracing for more after hurricane-force wind downed power lines and fanned wildfires along the Colorado Front Range and onto the Great ...

DATE: Dec 19, 2025 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Washington flooding forces an entire city to evacuate as rivers top historic highs

BURLINGTON, Wash. – National Guard troops went door-to-door early Friday to evacuate a farming city north of Seattle as severe flooding throughout Western Washington stranded families on roo...

DATE: Dec 12, 2025 | CATEGORY: Nation & World

Snowstorm blankets Southwest Colorado; more on the way

Flights largely unaffected, but icy roads make for slick driving conditions

DATE: Dec 4, 2025 | CATEGORY: Local News

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150-200 demonstrators made their way from DHS to Buckley Park

Colorado history gets weird, wild, wacky at Fashion Do’s and Don’tsAnnual Snowdown event has become so popular, auditions are now required

Cowboys. Fancy ladies. Gold miners. Even-toed ungulates that some in Durango might consider more like rats.Where can you find a runway show that takes you on a whirlwind tour through the weird, wacky and wildly exaggerated 150 years of Colorado history? Only at Durango’s annual Fashion Do’s and Don’ts, held Wednesday, where models and audience members wore costumes celebrating Colorado’s sesquicentennial – the theme of this year’s two-week Snowdown celebration.Standout acts included the Ghosts of Durango, which featured four of Durango’s most famous ghosts: a Rochester hotel ghost in a Victorian get-up of a more “modern” variation; the Strater Hotel’s head of housekeeping, also head of more discreet services; a young girl haunting El Rancho’s bathroom; and Sheriff Bob Thompson, killed in a 1906 gunfight. according to emcee Suzan Lane. A Another act was the Secret Circus Society, featuring Rubi Starr, Jeni Gross, Tabatha Joy Bettin, Adrienne Young and Ethan Deffenbaugh dressed as a car and the roadside pests better known as deer. Group members said the inspiration for the costume came from lived experiences driving Durango roads. The two-person Cantine Couture act starred Leslie Ponce and Tyler Frakes in an homage to the plentiful variety of Mexican restaurants found in any Colorado town. Ponce, dressed in comically large Mexican pointy cowboy boots, ambled down the runway as if taking a stroll under the hot, dusty, high-altitude sun, while Frakes flitted about the stage in a bright yellow salsa dress. Ponce said this year’s costume had been tough to decide, but the final decision was inspired by TikTok videos of Mexican cowboys in pointy boots. This was the duo’s third year strutting down the runway. Why they keep coming back for more, Frakes said laughing, was, “for the fame, the glory and the attention.”

Fashion Do’s and Don’ts has been one of the most highly anticipated Snowdown events since its inception in the 1990s. It has more than doubled in size over the past several decades. Last year, there were a record number of models, and in order to keep the event at a manageable size, this year’s fashion show was the first one to require the acts to audition. But many of the models were unfazed by the change. “It was actually easy,” said Jodi Zuber, one part of the two-person duo that made up the 1950s Texas Invader Ski Couple. Her partner-in-costume, Danny Jaques, said they had been doing this for several years, and it’s good with everything going on in the world to “get some levity and let your hair down.” The performers were not the only ones in costume. Audience members also dressed in a wide variety of unique takes on what makes Colorado, Colorado. JonBenet Ramsey made a miraculous appearance, being played by an 82-year-old woman, as did Casa Bonita, an ensemble that included a taco, sopaipilla and gorilla in chains – to name some of the characters. By the end of the show, people were in high spirits, as usual. “It was just delightful,” said a first-time audience member. If blessed with the chance to get the much coveted tickets – he said he would jump on it. jbowman@durangoherald.com

Annual Snowdown event has become so popular, auditions are now required

Photos: Snowdown 2026 Fashion Do’s and Don’ts

Photos: Durango High School basketball teams lose to Montrose High School

Photos: Local girls high school wrestling at La Plata TriDurango girls wrestling went 2-0 to win Tri on Thursday night at Bayfield

Durango girls wrestling went 2-0 to win Tri on Thursday night at Bayfield

Photos: Fort Lewis College women’s and men’s basketball take on Westminster UniversityBoth Skyhawks teams were victorious on Saturday afternoon

Both Skyhawks teams were victorious on Saturday afternoon

Photos: An afternoon in 2004 with the late Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell as he works on Capitol HillDurango Herald Photo Editor Jerry McBride had the chance to spend an afternoon with the late Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell in 2004, photographing him during meetings and around the Capitol.

Durango Herald Photo Editor Jerry McBride had the chance to spend an afternoon with the late Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell in 2004, photographing him during meetings and around the Capitol.

Photos and video: ICE protests return to DurangoAbout a dozen protesters tried to block federal agents from leaving with a detainee on Thursday

About a dozen protesters tried to block federal agents from leaving with a detainee on Thursday

The Durango Herald’s year in photos 2025

Winter storm blesses Durango with modest 4 inches of snow

Winter storm could bring heavy snow to San Juan Mountains

Photos: Ice fishing tournament canceled at Vallecito Reservoir

Snow returns to Southwest Colorado

More rain, not snow, expected early next week in lower parts of Southwest Colorado

Warm weather boosts fishing, hurts skiing and water reserves in Southwest Colorado

Durango flirts with record warm temperatures Christmas Day

Will this week’s storm bring Durango a white Christmas?

What does recent dry spell mean for snowpack and winter forecast?

Hurricane-force wind downs power lines, fans wildfires in Colorado

Washington flooding forces an entire city to evacuate as rivers top historic highs

Snowstorm blankets Southwest Colorado; more on the way

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