Flash Flood, Pueblo
- When
- August 30, 2:00 AM MST
- Where
- Pueblo County, 20 mi E of Pueblo
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 38.173, -104.513 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Colorado, August 30, 1996
Two separate rounds of heavy rain affected Kramer Creek late Thursday night the 29th. The two events combined to create a flash flood early the morning of the 30th at the intersection of Highway 96 and Kramer Creek.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS PUB wrote it up.
Two separate rounds of heavy rain affected Kramer Creek late Thursday night the 29th. The two events combined to create a flash flood early the morning of the 30th at the intersection of Highway 96 and Kramer Creek. James Cantu, 44, was driving to work early that morning when his car was washed off the road and carried 200 yards. Mr. Cantu was ejected from his car, carried an additional 75 yards downstream, and was found suspended 8 feet up in a tree.
The radar
The Pueblo radar (KPUX), 43 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 08:59 UTC.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood, Pueblo | 1996-08-30 | 44 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Damaging Wind in New Mexico, August 30, 1996
- Damaging Wind in New Mexico, August 30, 1996
- Hail in New Mexico, August 30, 1996
- Flash Flood in Florida, August 30, 1996
- Flash Flood in Alabama, August 30, 1996
- Flash Flood in Alabama, August 30, 1996
- Flash Flood in Alabama, August 30, 1996
- Hail in Alabama, August 30, 1996
- Flash Flood in Texas, August 30, 1996
- Flash Flood in Texas, August 30, 1996
- Flash Flood in Texas, August 30, 1996
- Flash Flood in Texas, August 30, 1996
More
Every storm in Colorado in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, August 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5566664.