Flood — Otero, Colorado

2023-07-05 · near La Junta, Otero, Colorado

Event narrative

Reports of major flooding along Highway 50 and Highway 350 near La Junta. Multiple cars stuck in 3 feet of water.

Wider weather episode

Residual moisture from an incredibly anomalously wet June continues to moisten the lower levels aiding in ample amounts of instability. The northwest flow pattern created a lot of shear, which led to prolonged 3 day severe weather event over adjacent and eastern plains of southern Colorado.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.9872, -103.5590)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1126139. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.