Flash Flood — Pitkin, Colorado

2019-01-03 to 2019-01-05 · near Snowmass, Pitkin, Colorado

Event narrative

Emergency Manager in Pitkin County reported an Ice Jam that was breaking up along the Roaring Fork River with large debris and chunks of ice flow downstream. River gauges along the Roaring Fork River showed sudden rises from less than 1 foot to 1.5 feet and CFS increases from 7.33 CFS to near 45 CFS around midday on January 3rd and again on January 4th.

Wider weather episode

An extended period of bitter cold temperatures caused an ice jam to form on the Fryingpan and Roaring Fork Rivers in portions of Pitkin, Eagle and Garfield counties. Minor flooding occurred along the rivers with elevated river flows peaking during the early afternoon hours each day.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.3795, -106.9475)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 792203. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.