Debris Flow — Pitkin, Colorado

2021-07-30 · near Redstone, Pitkin, Colorado

Event narrative

Mudslides occurred as a result of heavy rains along Colorado Highway 133 near Redstone and Swiss Village. The highway was closed for a couple of hours due to cleanup operations.

Wider weather episode

The prolonged North American Monsoon pattern prevailed across western Colorado with abundant moisture present as precipitable water values trended to 170% of normal. Additionally, morning sunshine allowed the atmosphere to rapidly destabilize over the higher terrain. As a result, another round of strong thunderstorms developed and produced heavy rain which caused several mudslides across portions of west-central Colorado.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.2500, -107.2300)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 965531. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.