Flash Flood — Rio Blanco, Colorado

2025-08-24 · near Meeker, Rio Blanco, Colorado

Event narrative

A video of flash flooding within a local area known as Josephine Basin, west of Meeker, was sent to NWS Grand Junction via Facebook. This flash flooding began within the Lee Burn Scar, and washed down over Rio Blanco County Road 33. This flooding was not reported to have caused significant damage, but did prevent residents living along County Road 33 from getting to or from their homes until the water retreated.

Wider weather episode

A plume of anomalously rich monsoonal moisture pushed into eastern Utah and western Colorado in the days prior to these debris flows. On the day of the flows, precipitable water values were in excess of 1.00 inch across the region. Daytime heating acting on the complex terrain of the region allowed for the formation of thunderstorms during the afternoon. These storms were capable of producing heavy rainfall with very high rain rates. Over the course of the day, multiple of these storms moved over the recent Lee and Elk RBX burn scars in Rio Blanco county, triggering multiple debris flows.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (40.0150, -107.9909)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1291258. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.