Flash Flood — Archuleta, Colorado

2014-07-15 · near Pagosa Spgs, Archuleta, Colorado

Event narrative

Heavy rainfall resulted in flash flooding within various locations in and near Pagosa Springs. Flowing water about 18 inches deep ran across Highway 160 about a half mile east of the junction with Highway 84. A stream which comes down to Rumbaugh Road in northeast Pagosa Springs had a high volume of water which ran across the road and continued onto Highway 160; with water 6 to 8 inches deep in an area generally bounded on the east and west ends by 1st Street and 2nd Street and bounded on the north and south ends by Lewis Street and Highway 160. Another area of flash flooding occurred on the west end of town in the Bastille Drive area where up to a foot of water depth was reported. Water damage occurred to a number of residences and businesses, including an auto supply store which still had about 12 inches of standing water inside the store the next morning. The river gauge in the San Juan River within Pagosa Springs measured a stage rise of just over 3 feet in less than 1.5 hours. The river rose up to the top of the banks in some places but did not overflow.

Wider weather episode

Monsoonal moisture flowed up into southwest Colorado and resulted in some thunderstorms that produced heavy rainfall.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.2757, -106.9918)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 522284. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.