Flash Flood in Ouray County, Colorado

Heavy rainfall caused flash flooding in the area of Dexter Creek and Skyrocket Creek north of Ouray, as well as along Cascade Creek in Ouray. In some sections of Dexter Creek, the flash flood waters were nearly 20 feet deep. A section of road was washed out and the remaining buildings from the abandoned Old Maid Mine and town, built in the late 1800s, were completely obliterated with only some foundations remaining. An enormous amount of debris flowed through and collected in sections of Dexter Creek, which is the main water source for many residents in Ouray County. In particular, log jams and boulders the size of large trucks clogged a quarter-mile section of Dexter Creek, filling the creek up to 20 feet deep from the original creek bed elevation. Skyrocket Creek flowed up to a foot deep across Highway 550 as the highway culvert was filled beyond capacity. A motel on the west side of the highway experienced flooding in the parking lot and to some lower level motel rooms. Skyrocket Creek deposited about 8000 cubic yards of debris, mostly rocks and boulders, in a catch basin just above the Uncompahgre River. About 2000 cubic yards of debris filled up a catch basin near Highway 550 just before Cascade Creek dumps into the Uncompahgre River. The Uncompahgre River gage near Ridgway measured a stage jump of nearly 2 feet that evening due to the upstream inflow from the flooding creeks. Radar storm total rainfall estimates over the mountains near Ouray ranged from 1.5 to 1.75 inches, most of which fell within 60 minutes.

Abundant monsoonal moisture combined with daytime heating to generate heavy rain producing thunderstorms.