Heavy rain in the Colorado Springs metro area caused Fountain Creek to flood from Colorado Springs to Pueblo. Moderate flooding occurred at Pinon (Pueblo County).
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS PUB wrote it up.
Heavy rain in the Colorado Springs metro area caused Fountain Creek to flood from Colorado Springs to Pueblo. Moderate flooding occurred at Pinon (Pueblo County). The flood waters entered the Arkansas River and caused moderate flooding of agricultural land near Avondale.
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 Pueblo, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 14, 2:17 PM MST, 1 hour 42 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 317 PM MDT WED SEP 14 2011 .SHORT TERM... (TODAY AND TONIGHT) ...LOTS OF RAIN THIS EVENING... CURRENTLY...NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND SCT TS RAPIDLY SPREADING OVR MOST OF OUR CWA. HEAVIEST PRECIP CONTINUES TO LOOK LIKE IT WILL BE OVR PORTIONS OF THE I-25 CORRIDOR...PARTICULARLY EL PASO COUNTY WHICH SHOULD SEE SOME WIDESPREAD QPF OF AN INCH OR MORE TONIGHT. TIGHTLY WOUND UPPER LOW IS NOW OVR THE GRAND CANYON...AND WILL SLOWLY MOVE INTO THE 4 CORNERS REGION OVERNIGHT. THE UPPER LOW LOOKS A BIT STRONGER THAN ANTICIPATED FROM MODEL PROGS LAST COUPLE OF DAYS...WHILE THE COLD FRONT MOVING OVR ERN CO IS NOT AS STRONG AS MODEL SIMULATIONS HAD INDICATED. AS A RESULT...WILL STILL SEE QUITE A BIT OF QPF FOR THE AREA...BUT IT WILL BE A BIT MORE CONVECTIVE IN NATURE...PARTICULARLY EARLY ON. STRONG WAA IS RESULTING IN HIGHER SNOW LEVELS...AND SNOW ADVISORY LEVEL ACCUMS MAY NOT VERIFY FOR ELEVATIONS UNDER 12 K FEET. HOWEVER...STILL LOOKS LIKE HIGHEST ELEVATIONS COULD GET A PRETTY GOOD SHOT OF SNOW...PARTICULARLY PIKES PEAK...WHERE IT IS CURRENTLY 30 DEG AND SNOWING. SO...WILL KEEP THE SNOW ADVISORY GOING FOR TONIGHT. BIGGER ISSUE MAY BE ACCUMULATING RAINFALL FOR THE LOWLANDS...WITH UP TO 2 INCHES POSSIBLE OVER A WIDE AREA. WILL HAVE TO MONITOR LOCAL RIVERS AND STREAMS THRU THU. WILL SEE SOME GRADUAL IMPROVEMENT ON THU AS THE UPPER LOW BEGINS EJECTING INTO THE UPPER MIDWEST. GOOD COVERAGE OF SHWRS AND A FEW TS STILL LIKELY FOR THE MOUNTAIN AREAS FOR MUCH OF THE DAY...WITH CLOUDY AND DAMP CONDITIONS. CONDITIONS SHOULD HOLD TEMPS IN THE 60S FOR THE PLAINS...ALTHOUGH H7 TEMPS WILL BE A COUPLE DEG HIGHER TOMORROW AFTERNOON. SNOW LEVELS SHOULD STAY ABOVE 12K FEET ON THU. ROSE .LONG TERM... (THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH NEXT WEDNESDAY) STILL ENOUGH RESIDUAL MOISTURE IN PLACE TO KEEP SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS GOING THU EVENING...WITH WEAK UPPER ENERGY SHEARING OUT OF THE TROUGH TO THE WEST PERHAPS PROVIDING SOME UPWARD MOTION. BROAD UPPER TROUGH LINGERS OVER THE WESTERN U.S. INTO THE WEEKEND...WITH MAIN UPPER ENERGY LIFTING INTO SOUTHERN CANADA BY LATE SUN. COMBINATION OF WEAK WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT AND LINGERING MOISTURE WILL KEEP THE THREAT OF AT LEAST ISOLATED AFTERNOON AND EVENING CONVECTION GOING THROUGH SUN...WITH BEST CHANCES OVER THE MOUNTAINS...LESSER CHANCE OVER THE PLAINS AS SURFACE FLOW BECOMES MORE DOWNSLOPE IN RESPONSE TO LEE TROUGING NEAR THE KS BORDER. IN GENERAL...KEPT A MIX OF SCATTERED POPS MOUNTAINS AND ISOLATED POPS LOWER ELEVATIONS GOING THROUGH SUN AFTERNOON. HIGH TEMPS WILL REMAIN NEAR SEASONAL NORMALS FRI..PERHAPS CREEPING A LITTLE ABOVE AVERAGE SAT AS WESTERLY FLOW INCREASES. WEAK COLD FRONT DROPS THROUGH THE PLAINS THE SUN...KNOCKING READINGS BACK TOWARD NORMAL ONCE AGAIN. FOR NEXT WEEK...TREND TOWARD DRIER/WARMER WEATHER DEVELOPS AS RIDGE BUILDS OVER THE WESTERN U.S...THOUGH LINGERING MOISTURE OVER THE MOUNTAINS MAY KEEP ISOLATED ISOLATED AFTERNOON TSRA GOING...ESPECIALLY MON/TUE. && .AVIATION...WILL CONTINUE TO SEE SCT TS AFFECT THE TAF SITES THRU THIS AFTERNOON. CONDITIONS WILL LIKELY DROP TO MVFR OR IFR FOR A GOOD 9-12 H PERIOD BEGINNING AROUND 00Z THIS EVENING....WITH STEADY LIGHT TO MODERATE SHOWERS/RA FOR KPUB AND KCOS IN PARTICULAR. AS TEMPS SLOWLY COOL...COULD ALSO SEE SOME LIFR FROM BR DEVELOPING BY EARLY THU MORNING. SHOULD SEE GRADUAL IMPROVEMENT TO VFR DURING THE 12-18Z TIMEFRAME ON THU. ROSE && .PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM MDT THURSDAY FOR COZ058-060- 073-075-080-082. && 44/10
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 1228 PM MDT WED SEP 14 2011 COZ058>089-093>099-151830- WESTERN MOSQUITO RANGE/EAST LAKE COUNTY ABOVE 11000 FT- LEADVILLE VICINITY/LAKE COUNTY BELOW 11000 FT- EASTERN SAWATCH MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FT- WESTERN CHAFFEE COUNTY BETWEEN 9000 AND 11000 FT- CENTRAL CHAFFEE COUNTY BELOW 9000 FT- WESTERN MOSQUITO RANGE/EAST CHAFFEE COUNTY ABOVE 9000 FT- SAGUACHE COUNTY WEST OF CONTINENTAL DIVIDE BELOW 10000 FT- SAGUACHE COUNTY EAST OF CONTINENTAL DIVIDE BELOW 10000 FT- LA GARITA MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FT- UPPER RIO GRANDE VALLEY/EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS BELOW 10000 FT- EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FT- DEL NORTE VICINITY/NORTHERN SAN LUIS VALLEY BELOW 8500 FT- ALAMOSA VICINITY/CENTRAL SAN LUIS VALLEY BELOW 8500 FT- SOUTHERN SAN LUIS VALLEY- NORTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 8500 AND 11000 FT- NORTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FEET- SOUTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 7500 AND 11000 FT- SOUTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FT- NORTHWESTERN FREMONT COUNTY ABOVE 8500 FT- WESTERN/CENTRAL FREMONT COUNTY BELOW 8500 FT- WET MOUNTAIN VALLEY BELOW 8500 FEET- WET MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 6300 AND 10000 FT- WET MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FT- TELLER COUNTY/RAMPART RANGE ABOVE 7500 FT/PIKES PEAK BETWEEN 7500 AND 11000 FT-PIKES PEAK ABOVE 11000 FT- CANON CITY VICINITY/EASTERN FREMONT COUNTY- NORTHERN EL PASO COUNTY/MONUMENT RIDGE/RAMPART RANGE BELOW 7500 FT- COLORADO SPRINGS VICINITY/SOUTHERN EL PASO COUNTY/RAMPART RANGE BELOW 7400 FT-PUEBLO AND VICINITY/PUEBLO COUNTY BELOW 6300 FT- WALSENBURG VICINITY/UPPER HUERFANO RIVER BASIN BELOW 7500 FT- TRINIDAD VICINITY/WESTERN LAS ANIMAS COUNTY BELOW 7500 FT- CROWLEY COUNTY-LA JUNTA VICINITY/OTERO COUNTY- EASTERN LAS ANIMAS COUNTY-WESTERN KIOWA COUNTY- EASTERN KIOWA COUNTY-LAS ANIMAS VICINITY/BENT COUNTY- LAMAR VICINITY/PROWERS COUNTY-SPRINGFIELD VICINITY/BACA COUNTY- 1228 PM MDT WED SEP 14 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL...EAST CENTRAL...SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT AN UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM MOVING INTO THE FOUR CORNERS REGION WILL COMBINE WITH A COLD FRONT MOVING OVER EASTERN COLORADO TODAY. THIS WILL BRING WIDESPREAD RAIN AND HIGH ELEVATION SNOW TO SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO TODAY AND TONIGHT. THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL IS EXPECTED TO IMPACT THE SOUTHEAST MOUNTAINS AND ADJACENT PLAINS TONIGHT. SOME AREAS COULD PICK UP AROUND AN INCH TO AN INCH AND A HALF OF RAINFALL ACROSS THE I-25 CORRIDOR AND LOWER EASTERN SLOPES OF THE SOUTHEAST MOUNTAINS. AS TEMPERATURES COOL THIS AFTERNOON INTO TONIGHT...SNOW LEVELS WILL DROP TO BETWEEN 11000 AND 12000 FEET...AND THE HIGHER PEAKS OF THE SANGRES...WETS...RAMPARTS...SAWATCH AND MOSQUITO RANGES COULD SEE 2 TO 6 INCHES OF SNOWFALL BY EARLY THURSDAY MORNING. HIGH ELEVATION SNOWS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE EASTERN SAN JUANS AND LA GARITA MOUNTAINS ABOVE 12000 FEET WHERE 1 TO 3 INCHES OF ACCUMULATION WILL BE POSSIBLE. ISOLATED TO SCATTERED EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALSO EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO. THE MAIN THREAT WITH THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE LIGHTNING...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL...AND HAIL UP TO 1/2 INCH IN DIAMETER. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY ISOLATED MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE EACH DAY. THE PRIMARY METEOROLOGICAL THREATS WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE LIGHTNING...WIND GUSTS UP TO 45 MPH AT TIMES...HAIL GENERALLY UNDER THE SIZE OF PENNIES AND BRIEF PERIODS OF MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL. ALSO...AN ADDITIONAL INCH OR TWO OF SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE AT ELEVATIONS ABOVE 12000 FEET FROM THURSDAY INTO THURSDAY NIGHT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER CONDITIONS THAT MEET REPORTING CRITERIA FOR SPOTTERS WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS AND ADJACENT PLAINS. 44/10
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The flood crest moved south on Fountain Creek and left El Paso County during the overnight.
The flood crest moved into the east side of Pueblo threatened buildings near 28th Street, then proceeded to the Avondale area on the Arkansas River and caused widespread agricultural flooding.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, September 2011
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: 346353, 346357.