553 first-hand accounts of flood events in Colorado, ranked by impact. Each is a NOAA-written narrative of the moment.
A deadly debris flow from the Cameron Peak burn area, struck Black Hollow Gulch west of Rustic on CO-14. The debris flow, estimated to be 5 to 8 feet deep, destroyed 6 homes and other structures. Four people were killed when their residence was swept away by the floodwaters.
Read the full account →A deep southerly flow over Colorado, ahead of a near stationary low pressure system over the Great Basin, pumped copious amounts of monsoonal moisture into the area. In addition, a weak stationary front stretched along the Front Range Foothills and Palmer Divide.
Read the full account →Two people were killed after heavy rain which produced a destructive debris flow in the Cameron Peak burn area. The 37-yr old woman and her 12-yr old daughter were in a camp trailer that was swept away at Calcite Road along Sheep Creek.
Read the full account →Very heavy rain from a fast moving thunderstorm dumped 2 to 3 inches of rain within an hour over southern Jefferson County. Two people were killed near the town of Buffalo Creek when a 20-ft wall of water blasted through the area.
Read the full account →A deep southerly flow over Colorado, ahead of a near stationary low pressure system over the Great Basin, pumped copious amounts of monsoonal moisture into the area. In addition, a weak stationary front stretched along the Front Range Foothills and Palmer Divide.
Read the full account →Severe thunderstorms produced large hail, from penny to tennis ball size across parts of Jefferson, Adams, Arapahoe, Denver and Washington counties. The hail along with heavy rain caused flooding and flash flooding problems.
Read the full account →Very heavy rainfall of around 1.5 inches (with rainfall rates up to 5 inches per hour) occurred across the Waldo and Williams Canyon watersheds, producing flooding on US Highway 24 and in Manitou Springs. Flash flooding occurred from Cascade to Waldo Canyon along US Highway 24.
Read the full account →Strong to severe thunderstorms over the eastern plains during the early to mid evening hours. Storms built northwestward to the Greeley around where it dump hail and heavy rain causing flooding in parts of Greeley.
Read the full account →Long duration severe weather event across the northeast plains, and most of the Denver metropolitan area beginning during the early afternoon hours. Scores of tornadoes occurred across Washington and Logan counties.
Read the full account →Thunderstorms produced very heavy rainfall, 1 to 2 inches in less than 30 minutes. In Englewood, the floodwaters quickly inundated a basement apartment and trapped a woman inside. She was found unresponsive in the apartment and died several hours later.
Read the full account →Flood waters from swollen creeks washed across six roads, including interstate 70, resulting in closures of varying periods. A man driving a pickup tried to cross one of the flooded roads and was swept away to his death.
Read the full account →Accelerated snowmelt from a near-record snowpack due to above normal temperatures produced high and fast flow on drainages in Mesa County that stemmed from the Dolores River.
Read the full account →A severe thunderstorm produced a wind gust to 60 mph at Centennial Airport. A thunderstorm produced a flash flood in southern Jefferson and southwest Denver counties. The flooding was particularly bad on southbound I-25 near 6th Avenue.
Read the full account →A deep southerly flow over Colorado, ahead of a near stationary low pressure system over the Great Basin, pumped copious amounts of monsoonal moisture into the area. In addition, a weak stationary front stretched along the Front Range Foothills and Palmer Divide.
Read the full account →Thunderstorms producing very heavy rain, up to 3.5 inches in spots, caused flooding and flash flooding problems in and around the Denver Metropolitan area. In Commerce City, a 37-yr old firefighter drowned while attempting to rescue a stranded motorist.
Read the full account →Storms produced heavy rain across western Pueblo County and western El Paso County and the Waldo Canyon burn scar. Rural roads were flooded east of Beulah. There was also flooding on US Highway 24 and numerous streets on the west side of Colorado Springs.
Read the full account →Two separate rounds of heavy rain affected Kramer Creek late Thursday night the 29th. The two events combined to create a flash flood early the morning of the 30th at the intersection of Highway 96 and Kramer Creek.
Read the full account →Heavy thunderstorm rains across Colorado Springs produced urban and small stream flooding, and caused drainage ditches to run rapidly swell to levels of 6 to 8 feet. Two boys playing in a storm drain were caught by the fast flowing water.
Read the full account →Severe storms brought flooding rain, damaging winds, and large hail the evening of the 9th. From 2 to 4.5 inches of rain fell in a short period of time on the east side of Pueblo, causing widespread flooding of low spots and roof collapses of three businesses.
Read the full account →A wall of water about 6 feet deep came down from Box D Gulch and struck 12 teenagers working for the Colorado State Division of Wildlife (DOW) repairing fences at the Little Hills State Wildlife Area, just over 3 miles east of the intersection of County Road 22 and County Road…
Read the full account →A deep southerly flow over Colorado, ahead of a near stationary low pressure system over the Great Basin, pumped copious amounts of monsoonal moisture into the area. In addition, a weak stationary front stretched along the Front Range Foothills and Palmer Divide.
Read the full account →A slow moving storm system produced flooding and flash flooding across the urban corridor and northeast plains, with heavy snowfall in the higher mountains of the Front Range.
Read the full account →A slow moving storm system produced flooding and flash flooding across the urban corridor and northeast plains, with heavy snowfall in the higher mountains of the Front Range.
Read the full account →Intense rainfall and hail due to slow moving thunderstorms fell on steep slopes composed of loose soil and rock. The worst rock and landslides in decades occurred on county road 306, which is in the Cottonwood Creek drainage north of Mt. Princeton.
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