Hail, Clear Creek
- When
- July 31, 2:14 PM MST
- Where
- Clear Creek County, 2 mi W of Idaho Spgs
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 39.750, -105.550
Flash Flooding and Hail in Colorado, July 31, 1998
2 flash flood, 1 hail, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
- $500,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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), 86 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:14 UTC.
Event by event
2 flash flood, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Flash Flood, Gilpin
- When
- July 31, 2:15 PM MST to 3:15 PM MST
- Where
- Gilpin County, Black Hawk
- Property damage
- $500,000
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 39.858, -105.522 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy rain triggered a mudslide in Blackhawk. The mudslide blocked Main Street and caused an estimated $500,000 in damage to the Golden Gate Casino.
Flash Flood, Jefferson
- When
- July 31, 4:20 PM MST to 5:30 PM MST
- Where
- Jefferson County, Buffalo Creek
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 39.586, -105.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy rain, up to 3 inches in an hour, caused a flash flood along Buffalo Creek, Portions of County Road 126, just south of the town of Buffalo Creek, were washed out. The floodwaters near washed away the bridge as mud and debris slammed into the structure. It was almost 2 years to the day that a deadly flash flood rushed through the small town killing 2 residents.
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
- 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 and Hail in Montana, July 31, 1998
- Damaging Wind in North Carolina, July 31, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Florida, July 31, 1998
- Damaging Wind in North Carolina, July 31, 1998
- Damaging Wind in North Carolina, July 31, 1998
- Drought in New Jersey, July 31, 1998
- Flash Flood in Idaho, July 31, 1998
- Drought in Pennsylvania, July 31, 1998
- Damaging Winds in Georgia, July 31, 1998
- Lightning Strike in Florida, July 31, 1998
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in South Carolina, July 31, 1998
- Damaging Winds in Wyoming, July 31, 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: 5662691, 5662782, 5662781.