Flash Flood in Colorado, August 21, 1998

Name: Flash Flood in Colorado, August 21, 1998
Start: 1998-08-21T18:00
End: 1998-08-21T20:30
Location: Colorado

August 21, 1998 · NWS BOU · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
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.

The radar

The Denver radar (KFTG), 66 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:01 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Elbert

When: August 21, 6:00 PM MST to 8:30 PM MST
Where: Elbert County, 14 mi N of Elizabeth
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 39.287, -104.136 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy rain caused flash flooding along Coal Creek in extreme northwest Elbert County. Large tree trunks and some boats were reportedly washed downstream. County Road 50, along the Arapahoe/Elbert County Line, was closed as floodwaters, up to a foot deep, covered the roadway. County Road 186 was also washed out.

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

Every storm in Colorado in 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history Warnings in Colorado, August 1998

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: 5664558.