Flash Flood — Mckinley, New Mexico

2017-07-29 · near Church Rock, Mckinley, New Mexico

Event narrative

Flash flooding over portions of state road 118 between Church Rock and Wingate. Road closed.

Wider weather episode

A widespread surge of deep monsoon moisture continued to shift northward over New Mexico toward the end of July. Slow-moving showers and thunderstorms developed over the high terrain during the late morning hours then pushed into nearby highlands and valleys through the afternoon. Several of these storms produced torrential rainfall rates over two inches per hour. Numerous reports of minor flooding were received over central and western New Mexico. The most significant flooding occurred around Gallup as runoff from heavy rainfall flooded state road 118 between Church Rock and Wingate. The road was closed for more than a day. Another storm developed over Glenwood and produced nearly two inches of rainfall in around one hour. This rain fell on already saturated grounds from recent heavy rains. Whitewater Creek overflowed its banks along the road to the Catwalk. The rush of water produced a flash flood in Glenwood over U.S. Highway 180. The heaviest rainfall occurred along the Dry Cimarron in northern Union County as a back door cold front approached from Colorado. Radar derived rainfall amounts indicated between three and five inches of rain fell in this area, producing a 17 feet rise on the river in just four hours at the Kenton, Oklahoma gauge. Ranchers across northern Union County were not able to get home due to flooded roads along the river. The peak water level of 22.31 feet was just 0.01 feet from the all-time record of 22.32 feet set in 1965. Torrential rainfall also occurred later in the night around Curry and Roosevelt counties. Portales reported between three and four inches of rainfall. No major flooding occurred, however this rainfall led to saturated grounds and set the stage for serious flooding over the coming days.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.5298, -108.5948)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 705511. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.