Snow removal equipment in Cortez sits idle as a dry and warm winter haunts the region. While rain showers are expected this week, significant snowfall is not on the horizon.
“We budgeted $30,000,” Casey Simpson, the interim director of the city Public Works department, said of the snow removal budget for fiscal year 2026. “We haven’t spent anything out of this account yet.”
By this time in the winter season, Cortez typically receives 20 to 25 inches of snow; however, the season snowfall total is at 6 inches, according to forecaster Braeden Winters of the National Weather Service office in Grand Junction.
“In the past 20 years, only three times has Cortez had this low a snowfall at this time in the season,” Winters said.
Last year, Cortez budgeted $27,960 for snow removal but spent a meager $1,869. The excess was reabsorbed into a general city fund, according to Simpson. The city may use excess funds at the end of this year to refurbish outdated snow removal equipment.
However, some businesses that provide snow removal services will struggle with the opposite problem.
Ryan Saunders, owner of the Cortez-based landscaping business Sprinkler Pros, said snow removal accounts for 15% of his business. The lack of snow means no early mornings for his crews but the drop in business still hurts.
“It’s difficult that we haven’t gotten any,” Saunders said, adding that – without practice – employees will have difficulty learning and navigating their typical routes. He’s not optimistic about the spring snowfall and worries about the consequences that will last beyond the winter season.
“It’s all we can hope for because then we’ll get into the season where everyone needs water,” Saunders said. “We’re very reliant on water down here.”
According to Winters, the lack of snowfall is already evident in the water systems surrounding Cortez.
“In terms of the some of the river basins around the area, the water that we received from snowfall is on the very low side,” Winters said. “We’re in the bottom 10% of historical records.”
In an average year, Cortez could expect another 10 inches but – fortunately for the city budget and unfortunately for snow removal crews – it’s not.
“There’s still time to build back the snow totals,” Winters said. “It’s going to take a lot of snow to catch up to what they normally see.”
avanderveen@the-journal.com
