Alert archive / Colorado / Flash Flood Warnings in 2004

Flash Flood Warning 28, NWS Pueblo, CO

August 18, 2004Chaffee County, Colorado

NWS Pueblo, CO issued this flash flood warning at Aug 18, 2004, 6:32 PM MDT for Chaffee County, Colorado. It was in force for 3 hr. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Aug 18, 2004, 6:32 PM MDT (00:32 UTC)
Expired: Aug 18, 2004, 9:30 PM MDT
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Pueblo, CO
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Chaffee County, CO

The radar

The Grand Junction radar (KGJX), 157 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:35 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Aug 18, 7:20 PM MDT	FLASH FLOOD	8 W Buena Vista, CO	MUDSLIDE ON COTTONWOOD PASS ROAD BLOCKING ROAD FOR A DISTANCE OF ABOUT 500 YARDS. COTTONWOOD HOT SPRINGS AND SEVERAL HOMES HAD BEEN EVACUATED AS OF 703 PM AS A PRECAUTION.

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

The nearest sounding before it

Grand Junction, CO (KGJT), launched 00:00Z, 0.5 hours before the alert went out and 182 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 516 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1810 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -7 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 40 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
WGUS55 KPUB 190035
FFWPUB
COC015-190330-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
632 PM MDT WED AUG 18 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PUEBLO HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  NORTHWESTERN CHAFFEE COUNTY IN CENTRAL COLORADO

* UNTIL 930 PM MDT

* AT 626 PM MDT...LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS REPORTED VERY HEAVY
  RAIN FROM A THUNDERSTORM OVER WEST CENTRAL CHAFFEE COUNTY...OR
  ABOUT 28 MILES NORTHWEST OF SALIDA...MOVING NORTH AT 10 MPH.  THIS
  STORM HAS PRODUCED MUDSLIDES AT THE JUNCTION OF COUNTY ROAD
  306...WHICH IS COTTONWOOD PASS ROAD...AND COUNTY ROAD 162.  

* THE THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAIN WILL BE...   
  OVER RURAL CENTRAL CHAFFEE COUNTY NEAR COTTONWOOD PASS ROAD
  THOUGH 715 PM.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT OR OCCURRING.

IF YOU ARE IN OR CLOSE TO THE WARNED AREA GO TO HIGHER GROUND
IMMEDIATELY. PEOPLE ALONG CREEKS AND DRAINAGE AREAS SHOULD TAKE
IMMEDIATE PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO
CROSS SWIFTLY FLOWING WATER OR STILL WATER OF UNKNOWN DEPTH ON FOOT
OR BY VEHICLE. AS LITTLE AS 6 INCHES OF WATER MAY CAUSE YOU TO LOSE
CONTROL OF YOUR VEHICLE...AND 2 FEET OF RUSHING WATER CAN CARRY AWAY
MOST VEHICLES...INCLUDING SUVS AND PICKUPS. NEARLY HALF OF ALL FLOOD
FATALITIES ARE VEHICLE RELATED. IF YOUR VEHICLE STALLS IN WATER
ABANDON IT IMMEDIATELY AND GO TO HIGHER GROUND. BE ESPECIALLY
CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE DANGERS OF
FLOODING.

LAT...LON 3875 10651 3872 10628 3903 10626 3904 10653

$$

1 follow-up statement

000 
WGUS75 KPUB 190126
FFSPUB
COC015-190330-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
726 PM MDT WED AUG 18 2004

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHWEST CHAFFEE 
COUNTY UNTIL 930 PM MDT WEDNESDAY EVENING...

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OVER THE COLLEGIATE 
RANGE AND MOVE NORTHWARD.  THE PUBLIC REPORTS LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN 
ALONG COTTONWOOD PASS ROAD WEST OF BUENA VISTA.  THE HEAVY RAIN IS 
PRODUCING MUDSLIDES ALONG THIS ROAD.  SOME EVACUATIONS ARE OCCURRING 
ALONG COTTONWOOD PASS ROAD DUE TO THE THREAT OF MUDSLIDES.

BE ALERT FOR FAST RISING WATER AND BE READY TO TAKE QUICK ACTION IF
NECESSARY. DO NOT DRIVE OR WALK INTO WATER OF UNKNOWN DEPTH. AS
LITTLE AS 6 INCHES OF WATER MAY CAUSE YOU TO LOSE CONTROL OF YOUR
VEHICLE...AND 2 FEET OF RUSHING WATER CAN CARRY AWAY MOST VEHICLES...
INCLUDING SUVS AND PICKUPS. NEARLY HALF OF ALL FLOOD FATALITIES ARE
VEHICLE RELATED. KEEP CHILDREN AND OTHERS AWAY FROM FAST FLOWING
WATER. FLOODING WILL OCCUR ALONG CREEKS...IN DRAINAGE AREAS...OVER
RURAL ROADS...IN NORMALLY DRY WASHES AND ARROYOS...AND OVER LOW LYING
LAND ALONG CREEK BANKS.

WATCH FOR ROCKSLIDES AND MUDSLIDES IN STEEP TERRAIN. WHEN DRIVING...
SLOW DOWN TO AVOID HITTING ROCKS AND MUD ON THE ROADWAY.

$$

The office that day

Everything else NWS Pueblo, CO issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 18, 8:50 PM MDT	Flash Flood Warning	PUB	Otero	3 hr
Aug 18, 9:27 PM MDT	Flash Flood Warning	PUB	Chaffee	3 hr
Aug 18, 9:44 PM MDT	Flash Flood Warning	PUB	Crowley	4 hr
Aug 18, 11:12 PM MDT	Flash Flood Warning	PUB	Bent	3 hr
Aug 18, 11:32 PM MDT	Flash Flood Warning	PUB	Otero	3 hr
Aug 19, 4:30 AM MDT	Flash Flood Warning	PUB	Crowley	3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Colorado, 2004 Every flash flood warning in 2004

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.