Flood in Colorado, July 19, 2002

Name: Flood in Colorado, July 19, 2002
Start: 2002-07-19T18:15
End: 2002-07-19T20:00
Location: Colorado

July 19, 2002 · NWS GJT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A thunderstorm produced heavy rain over the Roan Plateau north of Rifle with heavy runoff flowing into Government Creek. One and a half inches of rain was estimated to have fallen in a half hour.

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.

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Floods
Wind
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Marine and coastal
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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.

A thunderstorm produced heavy rain over the Roan Plateau north of Rifle with heavy runoff flowing into Government Creek. One and a half inches of rain was estimated to have fallen in a half hour. Minor flooding occurred in parks and open fields.

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 19, 1:31 PM MST, 4 hours 44 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 19, 1:31 PM MST, 4 hours 44 minutes before

WESTERN COLORADO & EASTERN UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
231 PM MDT FRI JUL 19 2002

UPPER HIGH CENTER LOCATED OVER EASTERN COLORADO HAS ALLOWED DEEPER
MOISTURE TO SHIFT OVER EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. 12Z GJT
RAOB PW UP TO 1.07 INCHES. STORMS SO FAR HAVE BEEN MOVING FAST ENOUGH
TO LIMIT HEAVY RAIN THREAT. WILL NEED TO WATCH FOR ANY TRAINING
ECHOES THOUGH. UPPER LOW LIFTING NORTHEAST ACROSS NORTHERN NEVADA AND
SOUTHWEST IDAHO ON WV IMAGERY WEAKENS INTO AND OPEN WAVE TONIGHT AND
SATURDAY. RIGHT ENTRANCE REGION OF UPPER JET AHEAD OF THIS LOW MOVES
OVER THE FORECAST AREA LATE TODAY AND TONIGHT AND LINGERS OVER THE
AREA SATURDAY. THIS SHOULD ALLOW CONVECTION TO BECOME MORE FOCUSED
ACROSS THE NORTH THIS EVENING AND CARRY INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS
TONIGHT.

DRIER AIR ADVECTING INTO THE SOUTHWEST ON WV IMAGERY. MODELS BRING
THIS DRIER AIR INTO THE FORECAST AREA SATURDAY. ENOUGH LOW LEVEL
MOISTURE THOUGH FOR SCATTERED DIURNAL CONVECTION AGAIN SATURDAY
AFTERNOON AND EVENING. UPPER DIVERGENCE AND WEST COMPONENT TO THE MID
LEVEL FLOW SHOULD FOCUS MOST OF THE CONVECTION NEAR THE DIVIDE
SATURDAY. HIGH BECOMES REPOSITIONED OVER ARIZONA AND UTAH SUNDAY.
DRYING TREND WILL CONTINUE WITH NORTHWEST FLOW OVER THE AREA. DIURNAL
CONVECTION DECREASING IN AREAL COVERAGE AND CONFINED TO THE MOUNTAINS
WITH A FEW STORMS DRIFTING OVER THE VALLEYS LATE IN THE DAY.
PERSISTENCE OR A SMALL DOWNWARD TREND IN TEMPERATURES FOR SATURDAY...
THEN WARMER ON SUNDAY. TAL

..EXTENDED (MON-FRI)
A WEAK WAVE LIFTS ACROSS THE CENTRAL GREAT BASIN AND NORTH OF OUR
AREA ON TUESDAY WITH LITTLE EFFECT ON OUR REGION. WITH THE RIDGE AXIS
STILL OVER OUR CWA AND ADEQUATE MOISTURE OVER AREA...HAVE CONTINUED
A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER MOUNTAINS...WITH A SLIGHT
CHANCE OVER LOWER ELEVATIONS. RIDGE BUILDS WEST OVER THE SOUTHWEST US
WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. WITH THE RIDGE AXIS WEST OF CWA HAVE GONE
WITH ONLY A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND
DRY CONDITIONS OVER LOWER ELEVATIONS WITH A RETURN TO HOT
TEMPERATURES DURING THE PERIOD. MPM

.GJT...NONE.

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, Garfield

When: July 19, 6:15 PM MST to 8:00 PM MST
Where: Garfield County, Rifle
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 39.599, -107.904 (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 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Colorado, July 2002

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: 5311496.