Flooding in Colorado, April 30, 1999

Name: Flooding in Colorado, April 30, 1999
Start: 1999-04-30T02:00
End: 1999-04-30T23:59
Location: Colorado

April 30, 1999 · NWS PUB · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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: $25 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 7

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.

Rainfall amounts of 6 to 13 inches from Wednesday night to Friday night caused fast rushing water and major flooding from the Fountain Creek watershed to the Arkansas River east of Pueblo. Heavy rain in the mountains and adjacent plains upstream from Pueblo on the Arkansas River caused flooding in Custer, Fremont and Pueblo counties as well. In Pueblo county, damage was done to roads, irrigation systems and bridge structures, especially near Fountain Creek. In far eastern Custer county, damage was done to a few roads. Heavy rain amounts, of 4 to 10 inches extended south to the Trinidad area, and began to flood the Purgatoire River basin, Huerfano River basin, and St. Charles River basin. The flood waters moved toward Otero county and Rocky Ford and La Junta. The rest of the narrative on this major flood, which was likely the greatest since 1965 will be continued in May Stormdata, with reports on flooding in the Arkansas RIver Valley in the southeast plains of Colorado.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Northern El Paso County/Monument Ridge

When: April 30, 2:00 AM MST to 11:59 PM MST
Where: Northern El Paso County/Monument Ridge forecast zone
Property damage: $2.0 million
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 37.992, -105.637 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Southern El Paso County/Colorado Springs and Vicinity

When: April 30, 2:00 AM MST to 11:59 PM MST
Where: Southern El Paso County/Colorado Springs and Vicinity forecast zone
Property damage: $14 million
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 37.240, -105.810 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Wet Mountains

When: April 30, 2:00 AM MST to 11:59 PM MST
Where: Wet Mountains forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 37.578, -106.085 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Pueblo and Eastern Fremont Counties/Pueblo and Vicinity

When: April 30, 2:00 AM MST to 11:59 PM MST
Where: Pueblo and Eastern Fremont Counties/Pueblo and Vicinity forecast zone
Property damage: $8.6 million
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 37.867, -105.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Upper Huerfano River Basin/Walsenburg and Vicinity

When: April 30, 1:00 PM MST to 11:59 PM MST
Where: Upper Huerfano River Basin/Walsenburg and Vicinity forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 37.426, -104.809 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Upper Purgatoire River Basin/Trinidad and Vicinity

When: April 30, 1:00 PM MST to 11:59 PM MST
Where: Upper Purgatoire River Basin/Trinidad and Vicinity forecast zone
Property damage: $500,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 37.426, -104.809 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Eastern Las Animas County

When: April 30, 1:00 PM MST to 11:59 PM MST
Where: Eastern Las Animas County forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.473, -105.440 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Colorado in 1999 Every state in 1999 This day in weather history Warnings in Colorado, April 1999

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: 5694853, 5694854, 5694855, 5694856, 5694857, 5694858, 5694859.