Debris Flow — Garfield, Colorado

2021-07-22 · near Shoshone, Garfield, Colorado

Event narrative

Heavy rain formed over the Grizzly Creek burn scar near Glenwood Springs, CO which caused a major mudslide across the Colorado River near MM 124 of Interstate 70. According to CDOT, the material in the river resulted in some damming of the river. Additionally, a smaller mudslide occurred at MM 129 at the same time and flowed across I-70 with an unknown depth. I-70 was closed for an extended period due to cleanup operations.

Wider weather episode

Even with high pressure centered over the region, deep monsoonal moisture continued to advect into western Colorado. In addition to the well above normal precipitable water values across the area, the passage of a subtle shortwave trough resulted in the development of widespread showers and thunderstorms. Some storms produced heavy rain which led to debris flows including across portions of the Grizzly Creek Fire burn scar.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.5800, -107.2100)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 965331. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.