Flood, Ouray
- When
- July 12, 4:00 PM MST to 5:00 PM MST
- Where
- Ouray County, 3 mi W of Ridgway
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.156, -107.769 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood in Colorado, July 12, 2001
Slow moving thunderstorms caused flooding of small creeks after nearly 2 inches of rainfall.
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 GJT wrote it up.
Slow moving thunderstorms caused flooding of small creeks after nearly 2 inches of rainfall.
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 12, 11:00 AM MST, 5 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 12, 11:00 AM MST, 5 hours before
WESTERN COLORADO & EASTERN UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 1200 PM MDT THU JUL 12 2001 CURRENTLY: DAILY STORMS HAVE INITIATED OVER THE FAVORED MOUNTAINS. MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY REMAIN PLENTIFUL. STORM MOTION TO THE NE AT 10KTS. LOW CLOUDS IN SE UTAH THIS MORNING MAY INHIBIT CELL GROWTH UNTIL LATE AFTERNOON. TONIGHT: SHEER ENVIRONMENT IS UNFAVORABLE FOR SUSTAINED CELL GROWTH...SO PULSE STORMS EACH WITH THE ABILITY OF DROPPING 1-2 INCHES OF PRECIP. AS FOR TRIGGERS...A WAVE IS EVIDENT IN EAST-CENTRAL UTAH MOVING NORTH WHICH SHOULD ENHANCE NORTHERN ZONE CONVECTION. MESO-ETA INDICATES A 2ND 400MB VORT MAX FOR CENTRAL ZONES THIS AFTERNOON...BUT THIS NOT SUPPORTED BY AVN/RUC OR SATELLITE. ANYWHERE ALONG DRY AIR BOUNDARY ORIENTED S-N THRU EAST UTAH MAY INITIATE STORMS. SO EMPHASIS IS ALL OF EASTERN UTAH AND NORTHERN PORTIONS OF WESTERN COLORADO. LEAST CHANCE OF HEAVY SHOWERS ALONG CONTINENTAL-DIVIDE ZONES WHERE MOISTURE IS LESS. WATCH NOT NEEDED BUT WILL MENTION LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN IN MOST ZONES. ISOLATED STORMS TO GO TO SUNRISE... PROBABLY IN EASTERN UTAH ALONG EDGE OF MOISTURE PLUME. FRIDAY: PERSISTENCE TEMPS AND POPS. LOW SHEAR/MODERATE CAPE ENVIRONMENT CONTINUES. BEST RIPPLES PROGGED IN EASTERN UTAH... STAY TUNED FOR TOMORROWS DETAILS TOMORROW. SATURDAY: ETA BREAKS DOWN RIDGE UNDER PRESSURE FROM RIPPLES OFF OF WEST-COAST TROF. AVN HOLDS RIDGE STRONGER. LOW LEVEL MOISTURE TO BE VERY SLOW TO ERODE IN EITHER SOLUTION FOR CONTINUED LATE-DAY CONVECTION. THREAT OF HEAVY RAINS MAY DIMINISH BUT INCREASED SHEAR COULD ADD TO SEVERE POTENTIAL. 99/RAMEY EXTENDED: HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE GREAT PLAINS WILL DOMINATE WEATHER THROUGH THE EXTENDED. STRONGER SOUTHWEST FLOW STAYS WEST OF CWA THROUGH MOST OF THE WEEK BUT HAVE CONTINUED BREEZY TREND ACROSS MOST LOCATIONS. MODELS STILL SHOWING WEAK WAVES WITH ADEQUATE MOISTURE THROUGH THE PERIOD SO WILL KEEP SLIGHT CHANCE POPS OVER LOWER ELEVATIONS WITH CHANCE POPS ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS. EXCEPTION IS ACROSS LOWER ELEVATION ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY WHERE DRY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED. TEMPS LOOK GOOD. MPM .GJT...NONE.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Flash Flood in Washington, July 12, 2001
- Heat in Mississippi, July 12, 2001
- Heat in Texas, July 12, 2001
- Flash Flood and Hail in Montana, July 12 to 13, 2001
- Wildfire in California, July 12, 2001
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Montana, July 12, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, July 12, 2001
- Damaging Winds in Louisiana, July 12, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, July 12, 2001
- Lightning Strike in Colorado, July 12, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, July 12, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Missouri, July 12, 2001
More
Every storm in Colorado in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5257657.