Debris Flow — Garfield, Colorado

2023-08-24 · near Allen, Garfield, Colorado

Event narrative

Heavy rain from thunderstorms over the Grizzly Creek Fire burn scar resulted in the ponding of water along portions of I-70 with a mud and debris slide reported near mile marker 120.6 I-70 was closed in both directions from 1800 on the evening of the 24th to 0000 on the 25th.

Wider weather episode

Remnants from Tropical Storm Harold lifted across the Desert Southwest. This, combined with already abundant subtropical moisture, resulted in widespread showers and thunderstorms across western Colorado. Storms were slow moving and produced heavy rain. As a result of the heavy rain, some flooding and debris flows occurred in portions of Gunnison, Garfield, Mesa, and Montezuma counties.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.7500, -107.2700)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1113799. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.