Flood in Colorado, July 11, 2001

Name: Flood in Colorado, July 11, 2001
Start: 2001-07-11T15:20
End: 2001-07-11T16:40
Location: Colorado

July 11, 2001 · NWS GJT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Slow moving thunderstorms produced heavy rain resulting in 6 to 8 inches of water running across County Road 1. The road was closed temporarily due to the flooding.

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

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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 GJT wrote it up.

Slow moving thunderstorms produced heavy rain resulting in 6 to 8 inches of water running across County Road 1. The road was closed temporarily due to the flooding.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Grand Junction, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 11, 1:40 PM MST, 1 hour 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 11, 1:40 PM MST, 1 hour 40 minutes before

WESTERN COLORADO & EASTERN UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
240 PM MDT WED JUL 11 2001

MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY IN PLACE...ESPECIALLY IN THE VICINITY OF 4-
CORNERS. WEAK SHORTWAVE LIFTING INTO SOUTHERN UTAH WITH WEAK 300-
200MB DIVERGENCE PROGGED 00-06Z.  STILL CONVECTION TO SLOW TO
INITIATE DUE TO COOLER AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES.  EXPECT MOST ACTIVITY
TO BE WINDING DOWN BY MIDNIGHT.  PERSISTENCE TEMPERATURES AND POPS
LOOK GOOD THROUGH FRIDAY.  AS USUAL SHORTWAVE ENERGY POORLY PROGGED
WITH NOTHING STRONGLY EVIDENT IN WATER VAPOR IMAGERY.   RAMEY

IN THE EXTENDED...LOOKS AS THOUGH WE WILL BE A LITTLE SLOWER TO DRY
OUT INTO THIS WEEKEND. DRIER AIR SEEN ON WATER VAPOR OVER NEVADA
AND FAR WEST UTAH WILL MAKE SLOW PROGRESS IN SLIDING EAST INTO CWFA.
THEREFORE...HAVE WORDED WITH SLIGHT CHANCE/CHANCE FOR SATURDAY.
TROUGH ALONG THE WEST COAST PROGGED TO MAKE HEADWAY FARTHER INLAND
BY SUNDAY AND INTO NEXT WEEK. THIS WILL HELP TO NUDGE DRIER AIR
INTO OUR CWFA. HAVE TRENDED POPS DOWN BEGINNING SUNDAY AS A RESULT.
ALSO ADDED BREEZY WORDING FOR VALLEY LOCATIONS IN RESPONSE TO
TIGHTENING GRADIENT OVER THE GREAT BASIN. NEWEST GUIDANCE HAS NUDGED
TEMPS DOWN FOR SATURDAY BEFORE GRADUAL WARM-UP TO NEAR CLIMO NUMBERS.
THIS LOOKS REASONABLE GIVEN CLOUD COVER THIS WEEKEND.  CNJ

.GJT...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR UTZ 22/25/27/28/29 AND COZ 17/20.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Ouray

When: July 11, 3:20 PM MST to 4:40 PM MST
Where: Ouray County, 1 mi NW of Ridgway
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 38.156, -107.769 (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 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Colorado, July 2001

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: 5257655.