Colorado, 1998

Tornado and Flash Flooding in Colorado, July 25, 1998

July 25, 1998 · NWS BOU · 10 events in 6 counties and zones

6 flash flood, 3 lightning, 1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 9 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
1
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
10

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 Cheyenne radar (KCYS), 25 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:34 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 flash flood, 3 lightning, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Weld

When
July 25, 1:37 PM MST
Where
Weld County, 5 mi NW of Carr
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
25 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.950, -104.930

A small landspout touched down briefly but did no damage.

Flash Flood, Logan

When
July 25, 3:30 PM MST to 6:30 PM MST
Where
Logan County, Crook
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.725, -103.110 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy rain, up to 4.5 inches, caused flash flooding problems in and around Crook. Extensive flooding was reported as parts of the town were under 2 feet of water. In addition, several county roads in the immediate area were washed out.

Lightning, Arapahoe

When
July 25, 3:30 PM MST
Where
Arapahoe County, Deer Trail
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
39.650, -104.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A telephone switchboard was damaged by lightning. Long distance service was knocked out for approximately 18 hours.

Flash Flood, Clear Creek

When
July 25, 4:00 PM MST to 5:00 PM MST
Where
Clear Creek County, Idaho Spgs
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.689, -105.644 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Torrential rainfall, 2 to 3 inches in less than an hour, triggered a flash flood in Virginia Canyon. County Road 279 between Idaho Springs and Central City, was closed for 2 days to clear off debris from mudslides. Several cars in Idaho Springs were washed off the road and numerous basements in town flooded.

Lightning, Denver

When
July 25, 5:00 PM MST to 7:00 PM MST
Where
Denver County, Denver
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
39.762, -104.876 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy rain caused flooding and flash flooding in eastern and southern sections of Denver, Englewood and Aurora as approximately 2 to 3 inches of rain inundated the area . Interstates 25 and 70 were closed for 2 to 3 hours as several low lying areas became impassable due to the highwaters. The water level was estimated to be 15 feet deep in one flooded underpass along I-25. As a result the interstate was closed from south of 6th Avenue to University Blvd. Standing water forced the closure of I-70 at the Gun Club Road exit. Lightning also knocked out 11 transformers across Denver causing several small fires and scattered power outages.In Englewood, U.S. Highway 385 was closed when highwater made it impassable. Several cars were reportedly floating down the roadway near Sheridan Blvd. In Aurora, the intersection at Yale and Chambers was flooded by highwater, up to 4 feet deep, when a spillway on High Line Canal was breached.

Flash Flood, Denver

When
July 25, 5:00 PM MST to 7:00 PM MST
Where
Denver County, Denver
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
39.762, -104.876 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Arapahoe

When
July 25, 5:00 PM MST to 7:00 PM MST
Where
Arapahoe County, Englewood
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
39.650, -104.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Adams

When
July 25, 5:00 PM MST to 7:00 PM MST
Where
Adams County, Aurora
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
39.874, -104.338 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Adams

When
July 25, 5:20 PM MST to 6:20 PM MST
Where
Adams County, 1 mi N of Strasburg
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
39.874, -104.338 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood and flash flooding occurred north of Strasburg as 2.51 inches of rain fell in an hour. The deluge resulted in considerable flooding of local streets and county roads.

Lightning, Arapahoe

When
July 25, 7:45 PM MST
Where
Arapahoe County, Deer Trail
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
39.650, -104.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A woman was injured when lightning struck a nearby telephone pole. She sustained burns to her head and right shoulder.

What these are

Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
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.
Lightning
A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Colorado in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Colorado, 1998Warnings in Colorado, July 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: 5662680, 5662678, 5663365, 5662588, 5662587, 5663366, 5663367, 5663368, 5662679, 5663364.