Debris Flow — Montezuma, Colorado

2024-08-25 · near (cez)cortez Arpt, Montezuma, Colorado

Event narrative

Emergency manager for Montezuma County reported a large boulder loosened from multiple consecutive days of heavy rain having fallen onto Road G, near the intersection of Road 21, about 2.5 miles from Cortez-Montezuma County Airport. This large boulder necessitated heavy machinery to clean up, but did not impact traffic on the road, despite partially blocking the west-bound lane.

Wider weather episode

A strong southwesterly jet aloft was in place of eastern Utah and western Colorado, not only advecting rich monsoonal moisture into the area, but also providing enhanced lift a some decent wind shear. All this to say the environment was perfect for stronger, and more organized convection to form during the afternoon hours of August 25th. With the above normal moisture and indications of potential training thunderstorms, as well as the fact of the unusually supportive environment itself, the local Grand Junction office issued a Flash Flood Watch for portions of the area, in addition to a moderate risk of excessive rainfall from the Weather Prediction Center and a slight risk of severe weather from the Storm Prediction Center, prompting a Severe Thunderstorm Watch.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.3118, -108.6596)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1208518. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.