Alert archive / Colorado / Flash Flood Warnings in 2026

Flash Flood Warning 10, NWS Denver/Boulder, CO

July 22, 2026Lincoln County, Colorado

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued this flash flood warning at Jul 22, 2026, 8:48 PM MDT for Lincoln County, Colorado. It was in force for 3 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jul 22, 2026, 8:48 PM MDT (02:48 UTC)
Expired
Jul 22, 2026, 11:45 PM MDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Area
Storm-based polygon
Flood severity
None

County Lincoln County, CO

The radar

The Pueblo radar (KPUX), 104 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:49 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.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this flash flood warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The nearest sounding before it

N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 00:00Z, 2.8 hours before the alert went out and 324 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 00:00Z on 2026-07-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 00:00Z on 2026-07-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 72 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1240 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
72 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
413 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

879 
WGUS55 KBOU 230248
FFWBOU
COC073-230545-
/O.NEW.KBOU.FF.W.0010.260723T0248Z-260723T0545Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
Flash Flood Warning
National Weather Service Denver CO
848 PM MDT Wed Jul 22 2026

The National Weather Service in Denver has issued a

* Flash Flood Warning for...
  Northeastern Lincoln County in east central Colorado...

* Until 1145 PM MDT.

* At 848 PM MDT, Doppler radar and automated rain gauges indicated
  thunderstorms producing heavy rain across the warned area. Between
  1.5 and 4 inches of rain have fallen. The expected rainfall rate is
  1.5 to 2.5 inches in 1 hour. Flash flooding is ongoing or expected
  to begin shortly.

  HAZARD...Flash flooding caused by thunderstorms.

  SOURCE...Radar and automated gauges.

  IMPACT...Flash flooding of small creeks and streams, gulches,
           roads, and poor drainage and low-lying areas.

* Some locations that will experience flash flooding include...
  Hugo, Arriba and Genoa.

This includes the following streams and drainages...
  Hell Creek, Dugout Creek, South Fork Republican River, Long Creek,
  Big Sandy Creek and Sevenmile Creek.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood
deaths occur in vehicles.

Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize the
dangers of flooding.

Excessive runoff from this storm will cause flash flooding of small
creeks and streams, country roads, farmland along creeks, and other
low lying areas.

&&

LAT...LON 3934 10361 3926 10364 3919 10365 3908 10367
      3903 10363 3908 10345 3919 10334 3924 10316
      3939 10316 3937 10351

FLASH FLOOD...RADAR AND GAUGE INDICATED
EXPECTED RAINFALL RATE...1.5-2.5 INCHES IN 1 HOUR

$$

MAI
1 follow-up statement
403 
WGUS75 KBOU 230448
FFSBOU

Flash Flood Statement
National Weather Service Denver CO
1048 PM MDT Wed Jul 22 2026

COC073-230545-
/O.CON.KBOU.FF.W.0010.000000T0000Z-260723T0545Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
Lincoln CO-
1048 PM MDT Wed Jul 22 2026

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1145 PM MDT THIS
EVENING FOR NORTHEASTERN LINCOLN COUNTY...

At 1048 PM MDT, Doppler radar and automated rain gauges indicated
thunderstorms producing heavy rain across the warned area. Between
1.5 and 4 inches of rain have fallen. Flash flooding is ongoing or
expected to begin shortly.

HAZARD...Flash flooding caused by thunderstorms.

SOURCE...Radar and automated gauges.

IMPACT...Flash flooding of small creeks and streams, gulches, roads,
         and poor drainage and low-lying areas.

Some locations that will experience flash flooding include...
  Hugo, Arriba and Genoa.

This includes the following streams and drainages...
  Hell Creek, Long Creek, Dugout Creek, Big Sandy Creek, Sevenmile
  Creek and South Fork Republican River.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood
deaths occur in vehicles.

Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize the
dangers of flooding.

Excessive runoff from this storm will cause flash flooding of small
creeks and streams, country roads, farmland along creeks, and other
low lying areas.

&&

LAT...LON 3934 10361 3926 10364 3919 10365 3908 10367
      3903 10363 3908 10345 3919 10334 3924 10316
      3939 10316 3937 10351

FLASH FLOOD...RADAR AND GAUGE INDICATED

$$

09

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Denver/Boulder, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Jul 22, 5:52 PM MDT, 2 hours 56 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

  • Storm coverage and intensity increases today and Thursday as monsoonal moisture moves into the region. Storms will be capable of producing locally heavy rainfall along with a localized threat of flash flooding.
  • Storm coverage expected to decrease again by Friday into this upcoming weekend, although mountain areas should see at least scattered storm coverage each afternoon and evening.
  • Temperatures will rise back into the upper 90's to lower 100's over northeast Colorado for the weekend into early next week.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 22, 5:52 PM MDT, 2 hours 56 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO
552 PM MDT Wed Jul 22 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Storm coverage and intensity increases today and Thursday as
  monsoonal moisture moves into the region. Storms will be
  capable of producing locally heavy rainfall along with a
  localized threat of flash flooding.

- Storm coverage expected to decrease again by Friday into this
  upcoming weekend, although mountain areas should see at least
  scattered storm coverage each afternoon and evening.

- Temperatures will rise back into the upper 90's to lower 100's
  over northeast Colorado for the weekend into early next week.

&&

.DISCUSSION /Through Wednesday/...
Issued at 209 PM MDT Wed Jul 22 2026

Today and tomorrow will bring beneficial rainfall to a majority
of the area with an isolated risk of flash flooding. High
temperatures will reach the low to mid 90s once again today across
the plains. There are already several storms ongoing across the
high country and the Palmer Divide. Storms today will migrate into
the plains by mid-afternoon and push east into the early evening.
Scattered showers and thunderstorms will likely continue across
our area through at least midnight tonight.

Low-level flow is currently southeast which is continuing to
provide ample moisture to our area. Additionally, we already have
MLCAPE of 500-1000 J/kg and 20-30 knots of bulk shear as of early
this afternoon. Storms will be outflow dominant, so any storm
could produce gusty winds up to 50-60 mph with the highest risk
across the plains.

PWATs are at 150-200% of normal today and will approach
climatological record high values on Thursday. We have a low
flooding risk today given slow storm motions and the warm cloud
layer depth approaching 5000 feet. The highest risk of flooding
will be across the high country, mainly for burn areas and also
where storms train or for areas that received significant rainfall
yesterday (and thus have lower flash flood guidance).

A shortwave moves through tomorrow during the day which should
provide a slight increase in rainfall coverage tomorrow afternoon
as well as high temperatures in the upper 80s for the plains.
Storms will once again form in the high country by late morning to
early afternoon and then move into the plains during the
afternoon and evening. Storm motion will be faster than today
(around 20 kts) given increased flow aloft, but tomorrow still
carries a low risk for flash flooding. Additionally, the warm
cloud layer should be deeper than today allowing for more
efficient warm rain processes. Tomorrow will likely be the 3rd day
in a row of rainfall for some areas. Rainfall rates could once
again approach 2-3 inches per hour, so the WPC is now highlighting
most of our area in a slight (2 out of 4) risk for flooding.

In summary, there are several ingredients in place that lead us
to be concerned about the potential for isolated instances of
flash flooding in our area, but also some ingredients that will
lessen the extent of the threat. Given the nature of these storms,
there will be varying rainfall totals across short distances.
Overall, additional rainfall totals across the area will generally
be around 0.25 to 0.75 inches with some isolated totals of 2-3+
inches by Thursday evening.

The high pressure will build back into the area starting Friday
and strengthen through the weekend. The last several model runs
have been keying in on the heat peaking on Sunday. This is when
temperatures across the plains could reach 100 degrees F once
again, given the thermal ridge aloft will be near 20 C and
centered over our area. Record highs could be in play and a Heat
Advisory could be needed as we get closer to the weekend. A chance
for scattered showers is expected to continue through the weekend
for the high country.

By Monday and Tuesday, models show the ridge weakening and
shifting slightly off to the southeast. At the same time, moisture
from the remnants of Bertha could be pulled into the Southwest
United States and into western Colorado. This will be something to
watch as this could bring an increase in rain chances, mainly for
the high country. Otherwise, highs should still be in the mid to
upper 90s for the plains through much of next week.

&&

.AVIATION /00Z TAFS through 00Z Friday/...
Issued at 539 PM MDT Wed Jul 22 2026

Weak convection persists across the Denver metro this evening,
with several outflow boundaries noted on TDEN TDWR at this time.
Forecast guidance does not have a great handle on how this will
evolve over the next few hours, though recent radar trends would
support at least a chance of TSRA for a couple more hours before
diminishing late this evening.

Given the rather uncertain near term forecast, this makes the
post-convective forecast also lower confidence than normal.
Eventually we should see drainage flow attempt to develop at
DEN/APA, but there are hints of a weak cyclone somewhere over the
north metro overnight tonight. There's also a low end chance of
some stratus development after 06z tonight... but not enough to do
much other than keep the FEW/SCT010.

By tomorrow morning, winds should weaken fairly quickly and
eventually turn to the north/northeast. Most guidance develops a
broken line of convection that moves through the terminals from
roughly 21-02z during the afternoon... with fairly high confidence
of at least some brief impacts from both TSRA and gusty outflow
winds.

&&

.BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
None.

&&

DISCUSSION...MV
AVIATION...Hiris

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 22, 4:22 PM MDT, 4 hours 26 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Denver CO
422 PM MDT Wed Jul 22 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0415 PM     Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 2 SE Denver Intl Airpor 39.85N 104.65W
07/22/2026  M62 MPH          Denver             CO   ASOS

            ASOS station KDEN Denver Intl Airport.

&&
Local storm report, Jul 22, 4:31 PM MDT, 4 hours 17 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Denver CO
431 PM MDT Wed Jul 22 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0415 PM     Tstm Wnd Gst     2 SE Denver Intl Airpor 39.85N 104.65W
07/22/2026  M62 MPH          Denver             CO   ASOS

            Corrects previous non-tstm wnd gst report
            from 2 SE Denver Intl Airport. ASOS station
            KDEN Denver Intl Airport.

&&
Local storm report, Jul 22, 8:37 PM MDT, 11 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Denver CO
837 PM MDT Wed Jul 22 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0815 PM     Tstm Wnd Gst     3 NW Sterling           40.66N 103.25W
07/22/2026  M61 MPH          Logan              CO   Public

            Personal weather station.

0815 PM     Tstm Wnd Gst     3 WSW Sterling          40.62N 103.27W
07/22/2026  M82 MPH          Logan              CO   AWOS

            AWOS station KSTK Sterling.

0809 PM     Tstm Wnd Gst     2 NW Sterling           40.65N 103.25W
07/22/2026  M62 MPH          Logan              CO   Public

            Personal weather station.

0803 PM     Tstm Wnd Gst     2 NE Merino             40.50N 103.33W
07/22/2026  M53 MPH          Logan              CO   Public

            Personal weather station.

0655 PM     Tstm Wnd Gst     3 SE Brush              40.23N 103.59W
07/22/2026  M72 MPH          Morgan             CO   Public

            WeatherLink station.

0649 PM     Tstm Wnd Gst     1 SSW Hillrose          40.31N 103.53W
07/22/2026  M53 MPH          Morgan             CO   Public

            Personal weather station. Recorded at 53 mph
            gust before the station stopped reporting.

0648 PM     Tstm Wnd Gst     4 S Hillrose            40.27N 103.53W
07/22/2026  M51 MPH          Morgan             CO   Public

            Personal weather station. Recorded a 51 mph
            gust before the station stopped reporting.

0604 PM     Tstm Wnd Gst     1 E Arriba              39.29N 103.25W
07/22/2026  M62 MPH          Lincoln            CO   Public

            WeatherLink station.

&&

The office that day

Everything else NWS Denver/Boulder, CO issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 22, 6:16 PM MDTAreal Flood AdvisoryBOULincoln3 hr
Jul 22, 6:41 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUMorgan, Washington49 min
Jul 22, 7:18 PM MDTAreal Flood AdvisoryBOULincoln2 hr
Jul 22, 7:44 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULogan, Morgan, Washington46 min
Jul 22, 8:07 PM MDTAreal Flood AdvisoryBOULincoln97 min
Jul 22, 8:18 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULogan42 min
Jul 22, 8:43 PM MDTAreal Flood AdvisoryBOULogan2 hr
Jul 22, 8:56 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULogan, Sedgwick49 min
Jul 23, 12:20 AM MDTFlash Flood WarningBOULincoln3 hr
Jul 23, 12:50 PM MDTAreal Flood AdvisoryBOUJefferson115 min
Jul 23, 2:18 PM MDTSpecial Weather StatementBOULincoln27 min
Jul 23, 3:03 PM MDTSpecial Weather StatementBOUWeld42 min
Jul 23, 3:36 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOULincoln24 min
Jul 23, 3:58 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOUElbert, Lincoln35 min
Jul 23, 4:32 PM MDTFlash Flood WarningBOUElbert, Lincoln3 hr
Jul 23, 4:44 PM MDTSpecial Weather StatementBOUMorgan61 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Colorado, 2026Every flash flood warning in 2026

Sources

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