Flash Flood, El Paso
- When
- July 30, 3:00 PM MST to 8:00 PM MST
- Where
- El Paso County, Central Portion
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.832, -104.526 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Colorado, July 30, 1998
Slow moving thunderstorms produced an estimated 4 to 5 inches of rainfall in central El Paso county and in Security in the afternoon and early evening. Flooding began at 4 pm when Brackett Creek, 3 miles southwest of Peyton, flowed out of its banks.
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
- 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.
Slow moving thunderstorms produced an estimated 4 to 5 inches of rainfall in central El Paso county and in Security in the afternoon and early evening. Flooding began at 4 pm when Brackett Creek, 3 miles southwest of Peyton, flowed out of its banks. At 5:15 pm numerous intersections in Security were reported flooded with as much as 2 to 3 feet of water. Many vehicles were stalled and businesses flooded as well. Flood waters left up to a foot of mud in low lying areas, swept away fencing and washed away landscaping. At 6:45 pm a 10-foot section of the on-ramp to the Hamisch-Ramah Highway, 2 miles north of Calhan, was reported washed out. At 6:49 pm a rock and mud slide caused by heavy rains blocked Highway 24, one mile north of Manitou Springs.
The radar
The Pueblo radar (KPUX), 51 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:00 UTC.
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
- Heat in Oklahoma, July 30, 1998
- Tornado and Hail in West Virginia, July 30, 1998
- Damaging Winds in Idaho, July 30, 1998
- Flash Flooding and Hail in New Mexico, July 30, 1998
- Flash Flooding in Kentucky, July 30, 1998
- Damaging Winds in Tennessee, July 30, 1998
- Flood in Florida, July 30, 1998
- Tornado and Flood in Maryland, July 30, 1998
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Tennessee, July 30, 1998
- Flash Flooding in Missouri, July 30, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Missouri, July 30, 1998
- Lightning Strike in Kentucky, July 30, 1998
More
Every storm in Colorado in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5662999.