Flood in Eastern Larimer and Northwestern Weld Counties, Colorado

Flooding problems developed across Larimer, western Weld and southern Elbert Counties as a steady southeasterly upslope flow brought heavy snow, above 7500 feet, and steady rainfall below 7500 feet. The combination of a persistent upslope and increased runoff allowed for several creeks, rivers and streams to jump their banks. Rainfall totals over 4 days ranged from 4 to over 6 inches in the hardest hit areas. The Big and Little Thompson Rivers, the Cache La Poudre River and Buckhorn Creek all experienced flooding problems. Several county roads in eastern Larimer and western Weld Counties were washed out. Similar problems occurred near Simla, in Elbert County, as many of the smaller culverts could not handle the high volume of runoff. About 60 residents at a mobile home park in Loveland were evacuated and placed in temporary shelters. The water rose high enough in the mobile home park to cover the bumpers of the cars. Several basement in Fort Collins were also flooded. Five people had to be evacuated from the small mountain community of Cove Creek as private bridges and roads became impassable.