phil882 Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 I'm surprised there hasn't been a thread on here yet, but there is a dangerous situation evolving in and nearby Bolder, CO currently. Take a look at some of the river gauges as the area has been slammed with 5-10" of rainfall over the last 48 hours. For those that have been around a while... you might remember the historic river flooding that occurred at the Big Thompson River on July 31st, 1976 killing 143 people. Some of these locations experienced very heavy upslope rainfall last night, and it appears we are in a repeat performance (although not quite as heavy) tonight. There has already been some pretty remarkable scenes as documented by media sources earlier today. Unfortunately the flooding thus far has already claimed 3 lives. Unfortunately things might get worse before they get better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stebo Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Yeah there is some discussion on the Central/Western subforum This might be one of the strongest worded Flash Flood Warnings I have ever seen BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTEDFLASH FLOOD WARNINGNATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO1158 PM MDT THU SEP 12 2013THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR... NORTHERN JEFFERSON COUNTY IN NORTHEAST COLORADO... BOULDER COUNTY IN NORTHEAST COLORADO...* UNTIL 600 AM MDT FRIDAY* AT 1153 PM MDT...EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT REPORTED A NEW ROUND OF SEVERE FLASH FLOODING IN FOURMILE CREEK...BOULDER CREEK...AND LEFTHAND CANYON IN BOULDER COUNTY. THIS IS A FLASH FLOOD EMERGENCY FOR THE FOURMILE BURN AREA...THE CITY OF BOULDER...AND LEFTHAND CREEK. SEEK HIGHER GROUND NOW! THIS IS A POTENTIALLY LIFE THREATENING SITUATION!* SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL EXPERIENCE FLOODING INCLUDE... WESTERN ARVADA...WESTERN WESTMINSTER...BOULDER...WESTERN LONGMONT...SOUTHWESTERN BROOMFIELD...LAFAYETTE...NORTHWESTERN GOLDEN...LOUISVILLE...SUPERIOR...LYONS...NEDERLAND...JAMESTOWN... WARD...SALINA...NIWOT...ELDORA...ALLENSPARK...WALLSTREET...ROCKY FLATS...BRAINARD LAKE...WHITE RANCH OPEN SPACE...ELDORADO SPRINGS...CRISMAN...GOLD HILL...SUMMERVILLE...PEACEFUL VALLEY... RAYMOND...MEEKER PARK...SUNSHINE AND LONGS PEAK.AT 1150 PM...BOULDER COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT REPORTEDSIGNIFICANT RISES COMING DOWN FOURMILE CREEK OUT OF THE FOURMILEBURN AREA AND INTO BOULDER CANYON. THIS SURGE IS EXPECTED TO REACHTHE MOUTH OF BOULDER CANYON IN THE CITY OF BOULDER WITHIN THE NEXT20 MINUTES. THERE WAS ALSO A 10 FOOT WALL OF WATER COMING DOWNLEFTHAND CANYON. RESIDENTS DOWNSTREAM CAN EXPECT A SIGNIFICANTINCREASE IN WATER LEVELS...EVEN EAST OF THE CANYONS...OVER THE NEXTHOUR. IF YOU ARE NEAR BOULDER OR FOURMILE CREEKS...GET TO HIGHER GROUNDNOW! DO NOT TRY TO OUTRUN THIS FLASH FLOOD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stebo Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Speaking of comparisons to the 1976 Big Thompson Canyon flood BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTEDFLASH FLOOD WARNINGNATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO1245 AM MDT FRI SEP 13 2013THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS EXTENDED THE* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR... SOUTHEASTERN LARIMER COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO...* UNTIL 800 AM MDT FRIDAY* AT 1236 AM MDT...EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT REPORTED SEVERE FLASH FLOODING CONTINUING IN BIG THOMPSON CANYON AND THE CITY OF LOVELAND. FLOODING WAS ALSO OCCURRING ON THE LITTLE THOMPSON RIVER AND IN SMALLER DRAINAGES IN SOUTHEASTERN LARIMER COUNTY. THIS IS A FLASH FLOOD EMERGENCY FOR THE BIG THOMPSON CANYON AND LOVELAND. SEEK HIGHER GROUND NOW! THIS IS A LIFE THREATENING SITUATION!* SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL EXPERIENCE FLOODING INCLUDE... LOVELAND...WINDSOR...ESTES PARK...BERTHOUD AND DRAKE.FLOOD WATERS ARE MOVING DOWN BIG THOMPSON CANYON FROM ESTES PARKINTO LOVELAND. THE FLOW CONTINUES TO INCREASE ON BOTH THE NORTH FORKAND THE MAIN STEM OF THE BIG THOMPSON RIVER. THE FLOW IN THE NORTHFORK OF THE BIG THOMPSON RIVER IS GREATER THAN IT WAS IN THE 1976FLOOD. THE FLOW ON THE MAIN STEM IS THE LARGEST SINCE THAT FLOOD.FLOOD WATERS IN THE CANYON AND IN THE CITY OF LOVELAND WILL CONTINUETO RISE THROUGH SUNRISE...AND FLOODING WILL CONTINUE TO MOVEEASTWARD INTO WELD COUNTY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil882 Posted September 13, 2013 Author Share Posted September 13, 2013 FLOOD WATERS ARE MOVING DOWN BIG THOMPSON CANYON FROM ESTES PARKINTO LOVELAND. THE FLOW CONTINUES TO INCREASE ON BOTH THE NORTH FORKAND THE MAIN STEM OF THE BIG THOMPSON RIVER. THE FLOW IN THE NORTHFORK OF THE BIG THOMPSON RIVER IS GREATER THAN IT WAS IN THE 1976FLOOD. THE FLOW ON THE MAIN STEM IS THE LARGEST SINCE THAT FLOOD.FLOOD WATERS IN THE CANYON AND IN THE CITY OF LOVELAND WILL CONTINUETO RISE THROUGH SUNRISE...AND FLOODING WILL CONTINUE TO MOVEEASTWARD INTO WELD COUNTY. Just knowing the history of that event... those statements are downright scary! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordanwx Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Speaking of comparisons to the 1976 Big Thompson Canyon flood FLOOD WATERS ARE MOVING DOWN BIG THOMPSON CANYON FROM ESTES PARKINTO LOVELAND. THE FLOW CONTINUES TO INCREASE ON BOTH THE NORTH FORKAND THE MAIN STEM OF THE BIG THOMPSON RIVER. THE FLOW IN THE NORTHFORK OF THE BIG THOMPSON RIVER IS GREATER THAN IT WAS IN THE 1976FLOOD. THE FLOW ON THE MAIN STEM IS THE LARGEST SINCE THAT FLOOD.FLOOD WATERS IN THE CANYON AND IN THE CITY OF LOVELAND WILL CONTINUETO RISE THROUGH SUNRISE...AND FLOODING WILL CONTINUE TO MOVEEASTWARD INTO WELD COUNTY. Yep, here is that gauge cresting at record levels. 9'3 marks the previous record set during the Big Thompson Canyon Flood of 1976. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stebo Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Just knowing the history of that event... those statements are downright scary! Yes especially considering that Boulder is 97k people and Loveland is 65k people. Not to mention there is some major flooding occurring in the Denver Metro area as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scuddz Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWGK4CiWxeM&list=UUWAN-rRJFLosqgiiIFVpkEQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MN Transplant Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWGK4CiWxeM&list=UUWAN-rRJFLosqgiiIFVpkEQ Good footage at the 5+ min mark. That is one angry creek. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midlo Snow Maker Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWGK4CiWxeM&list=UUWAN-rRJFLosqgiiIFVpkEQ Great video Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wxmeddler Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Busted that record wide open.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stebo Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Yeah nothing like beating your record by 5' oh and also being 5' over major flood stage as well. Edit: make that 7' above record/major flood stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usedtobe Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 The pattern today still looks ominous as low level easterly flow develops just behind a cold front in the vicinity of a weak upper trough. So far it sounds like all my COMET friends are safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usedtobe Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 To me the patterns between the Nashville event and this upslope event do not look that similar. The one May event was a synoptic type flash flood with the upper level jet playing a pretty big role in the event. The boulder event was more typical of a front range heavy rainfall event with the strong easterly flow helping to focus rain along the front range. Where this event is highly unusual is the scale of the heavy rains and how large an area that was covered and the fact that it occurred later than most of the big front range events. Yes both had nice plumes of moisture but that's pretty much how you get major rainfall events. Both did have a blocking high but the position was very different as was the location of the surface high. That both occurred during similar MJO phases may or may not ne coincidence. Anyway, those are my thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Pouring again in Boulder area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaWx Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 The Colorado flooding, which flooded many more locations than Boulder, was considered biblical in some ways and I even heard 1,000 year flood for some locations. I know someone who lives in Greeley, CO. She told me that she is dry only because she is high up on a hill. However, it along with a good bit of Greeley is like an island now and she thinks she's stuck there for at least a couple of weeks. It may be several months before nearby bridges are repaired!! Other cities hit very hard include Aurora and other parts of the eastern Denver metro, Manitou Springs near CO Springs, Estes Park (home of Stanley Hotel from the book and miniseries "The Shining"), and Lyons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canderson Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Our wedding photographer lives in Lyons and was airlifted out Thursday. Her videos are jaw-dropping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amped Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 The pattern today still looks ominous as low level easterly flow develops just behind a cold front in the vicinity of a weak upper trough. So far it sounds like all my COMET friends are safe. Radar is already looking pretty bad. North side of Denver getting rocked now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaWx Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Radar is already looking pretty bad. North side of Denver getting rocked now. Wow, what a huge mess! Aurora and CO Springs are getting hit hard again. Also, Boulder, Lyons, and Estes Park among other areas are also getting still another soaking. Holy sheet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usedtobe Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 Wow, what a huge mess! Aurora and CO Springs are getting hit hard again. Also, Boulder, Lyons, and Estes Park among other areas are also getting still another soaking. Holy sheet! Looks like the rain was limited somewhat by the lack of strong instability....the highest amounts showing up are in the inch to 1.5 inch range according to the radar with the heaviest activity now east of the mountains. Still that much rain with the ground already soaked is no picnic. Looks like it should start drying out tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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