Flash Flood — Ouray, Colorado

2008-08-09 · near Ouray, Ouray, Colorado

Event narrative

A flash flood came down Corbett Creek leaving a debris fan several hundred yards long, 300 feet wide and five feet deep. A house on Whispering Pines Drive sustained extensive damage to the foundation and exterior, with the deck having been ripped off. Another house on Chipmunk Way had debris up to a half foot deep into the basement and garage, and a deposit of debris up to 2 feet deep on the deck and against the house. A family of hikers on the Dallas Trail became stranded when their parked car was washed away. Their car was a total loss. Another car was carried away from a driveway and dropped over a short cliff. A boulder the size of a small car fell onto nearby Highway 550. County Road 17 was washed out and another nearby private road was washed out in places. The flash flood resulted in Corbett Creek carving out a new channel. A local official said this was the worst flash flood he had seen in that area since 1991.

Wider weather episode

Monsoonal moisture produced thunderstorms, some of which produced heavy rainfall in Ouray County.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.0478, -107.6937)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 124923. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.