Debris Flow in Eagle County, Colorado

Heavy rain from a slow moving storm over the Vail Pass area of Interstate 70 resulted in a small mud or rock slide early in the afternoon of August 5th. This slide was spotted via Colorado Department of Transportation webcams, and did result in a brief closure of one lane of Interstate 70 for cleanup.

Under high pressure and with rich monsoonal moisture in place, showers and thunderstorms formed over the higher terrain of western Colorado on the afternoon of August 5th. Steering flow aloft was weak, leading to slow storm motion with any storm that formed, which combined with locally heavy rain to create a flash flood and debris flow threat in areas of steep terrain.