Flood in Colorado, July 9, 2002

Name: Flood in Colorado, July 9, 2002
Start: 2002-07-09T13:30
End: 2002-07-09T14:30
Location: Colorado

July 9, 2002 · NWS GJT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Heavy rains resulted in minor mudslides which covered County Road 501 just south of Vallecito Reservoir. The road was closed temporarily until the mud and debris was removed.

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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Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
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Winter weather
Heat and drought
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Fire, smoke and dust
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.

Heavy rains resulted in minor mudslides which covered County Road 501 just south of Vallecito Reservoir. The road was closed temporarily until the mud and debris was removed.

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 9, 1:10 PM MST, 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 9, 1:10 PM MST, 20 minutes before

WESTERN COLORADO & EASTERN UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
210 PM MDT TUE JUL 9 2002

CONVECTION BEGAN FIRING AGAIN AROUND...OR JUST AFTER MIDDAY.
ACTIVITY AGAIN CONFINED LARGELY TO THE SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL MOUNTAIN
AREAS SOUTHEAST OF THE DEFORMATION ZONE STRETCHING SOUTHWEST TO
NORTHEAST FROM SOUTHEAST UT TO NORTH-CENTRAL CO WHERE BEST MOISTURE
AVAILABLE ACCORDING TO WV IMAGERY. SOME MOISTURE NORTHWEST OF THE
DEFORMATION EVIDENT IN WV IMAGERY FUELING SOME CONVECTION OVER THE
ROAN AND TAVAPUTS PLATEAUS.

LIKE PREVIOUS FEW DAYS...EXPECT THIS ACTIVITY TO CONTINUE INTO THE
EVENING HOURS WITH A FEW CELLS MOVING OVER ADJACENT LOWER AREAS TO
THE SOUTH LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. EXCEPTION IS ACROSS THE
NORTHWEST PORTION OF THE CWFA WHERE MODELS SHOW AIRMASS TOO DRY TO
SUPPORT MOIST CONVECTION. THIS CONFIRMED BY WV IMAGERY.

TREND WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY IS TO GRADUALLY DRY THE NORTHERN
ZONES WHILE SOUTHERN ZONES REMAIN RELATIVELY MOIST. THEREFORE...WILL
CONTINUE WITH DIURNAL ACTIVITY SOUTH AND WILL PARE BACK POPS ACROSS
THE NORTHERN ZONES. TEMPERATURES UNLIKELY TO SHOW MUCH CHANGE...
THOUGH WITH CONTINUED NORTHERLY FLOW AND DRYING NORTH...EXPECT
OVERNIGHT LOWS WILL BE A SHADE COOLER. NL

FRIDAY-TUESDAY:  WILL CONTINUE WITH PRESENT FORECAST OF SLIGHT
CHANCE MOUNTAINS AS HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE DOMINATES THROUGH THE
PERIOD.  EARLY NEXT WEEK THE MID-RANGE MODELS CARRY A LOW CENTER
(TROPICAL DEPRESSION?) NORTH ALONG THE WEST COAST OF BAJA.  THIS
SCENARIO WILL INCREASE MOISTURE OVER THE FORECAST AREA FROM THE
SOUTH. HOWEVER ANY EFFECTS WILL BE LATE IN THE PERIOD WITH ENOUGH
UNCERTAINTY...SO WILL NOT BREAK OUT TUE AT THIS TIME.   HEFFERNAN

.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, La Plata

When: July 9, 1:30 PM MST to 2:30 PM MST
Where: La Plata County, 16 mi ENE of Durango
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 37.287, -107.843 (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: 5311489.