Flash Flood, Garfield
- When
- August 6, 1:00 PM MST to 2:00 PM MST
- Where
- Garfield County, Rifle
- Property damage
- $80,000
- Coordinates
- 39.599, -107.904 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Colorado, August 6, 1997
Heavy rains on the Bookcliff Mountains raised the water level by 6 feet in Government Creek and sent 1 to 2 feet of water roaring into the western side of Rifle. Some businesses and about a dozen homes received flood damage.
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
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $80,000
- 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 GJT wrote it up.
Heavy rains on the Bookcliff Mountains raised the water level by 6 feet in Government Creek and sent 1 to 2 feet of water roaring into the western side of Rifle. Some businesses and about a dozen homes received flood damage. In the aftermath, rocks, mud, and other debris had to be removed from roads and lawns.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Flood in Colorado, August 6, 1997
- Tornado and Wildfire in Washington, August 6 to 26, 1997
- Wildfire in California, August 6 to 14, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Florida, August 6, 1997
- Flash Flood in New Mexico, August 6, 1997
- Lightning Strikes in Washington, August 6, 1997
- Flash Flooding in Oklahoma, August 6 to 12, 1997
- High Surf in California, August 6 to 7, 1997
- Hail in Rhode Island, August 6, 1997
- Waterspout in Virginia, August 6, 1997
- Funnel Cloud in California, August 6, 1997
- Tornado in Florida, August 6, 1997
More
Every storm in Colorado in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, August 1997
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: 5618585.