Flash Flood — Arapahoe, Colorado

2018-07-24 · near Littleton, Arapahoe, Colorado

Event narrative

Thunderstorms produced very heavy rainfall, 1 to 2 inches in less than 30 minutes. At 4600 South Acoma, the floodwaters quickly inundated a basement apartment and trapped a 32-year-old woman inside. She was rescued, but died several hours later.

Floodwaters stalled several vehicles and forced the closure of several intersections including: East Iliff Ave. and South Chambers Road, Santa Fe Drive and West Oxford Ave., South Buckley Road and East Bates Ave., East 6th Ave. and South Picadilly Road, East Hampden Ave and South Uruvan Way. Flooding created a large sinkhole in Sheridan. A small SUV was fell into the hole. The driver was not injured. She escaped her vehicle before it was swallowed by the sinkhole.

Wider weather episode

Thunderstorms produced very heavy rainfall, 1 to 2 inches in less than 30 minutes. In Englewood, the floodwaters quickly inundated a basement apartment and trapped a woman inside. She was found unresponsive in the apartment and died several hours later. Several homes in the immediate area suffered severe flood damage. The floodwaters also stalled vehicles and forced the closure of several intersections. In Sheridan, the heavy rain created a large sinkhole which swallowed a small SUV. A downed power line caused a fire in Arapahoe County. Severe thunderstorms produced damaging wind and hail in Jefferson, Logan, Morgan, Washington, and Weld counties.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.6300, -104.9800)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 759483. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.