An area of heavy rain developed across western El Paso County flooding many areas. Rock Creek, Cheyenne Creek, and Fountain Creek experienced flash flooding and flooding.
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.
An area of heavy rain developed across western El Paso County flooding many areas. Rock Creek, Cheyenne Creek, and Fountain Creek experienced flash flooding and flooding. Rock and Cheyenne Creek watersheds experienced significant damages to infrastructure. From mid-evening through the overnight, Eighty-nine houses were flooded along Cheyenne Creek. In addition, Fountain Creek was in flood for several hours from southern Colorado Springs to the El Paso County - Pueblo County line.
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 12, 10:42 AM MST, 18 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 1142 AM MDT THU SEP 12 2013 .UPDATE... ISSUED AT 1142 AM MDT THU SEP 12 2013 DISTURBANCE OVER NORTHERN NEW MEXICO IS CONTINUING TO MOVE NORTHWARD. ALL MODELS AGREE ON INCREASING THE COVERAGE AND INTENSITY OF PRECIPITATION WHEN THIS DISTURBANCE PASSES OVER THE REGION. CURRENT TIMING HAS THE DISTURBANCE REACHING EL PASO COUNTY BY MID AFTERNOON. FORECAST APPEARS TO BE IN TRACK WITH PRECIPITATION COVERAGE AND INTENSITY INCREASING FROM SOUTH TO NORTH DURING THE LATE MORNING AND INTO THE AFTERNOON. THE HRRR REFLECTIVITY IS FAIRLY CLOSE TO THE OBSERVED REFLECTIVITY WITH THE THE NEXT ROUND OF CONVECTION OVER EXTREME NORTHERN NEW MEXICO AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO. LATEST HRRR RUN CONTINUES TO LOOK SCARY DURING THE LATER AFTERNOON AND EVENING...WITH WIDESPREAD MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL OVER THE REGION. WITH SOUTHERLY FLOW...GREATEST POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE OVER EL PASO AND TELLER COUNTIES WITH SOUTHERLY FLOW BEING UPSLOPE FOR THESE LOCATIONS. WITH SCATTERED HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGHOUT THE REGION...FLASH FLOODING IS STILL POSSIBLE AT OTHER LOCATIONS...PARTICULARLY ON THE THE SOUTH FACING SLOPES. --PGW-- && .SHORT TERM...(TODAY AND TONIGHT) ISSUED AT 340 AM MDT THU SEP 12 2013 ALL INDICATIONS ARE THAT TODAY WILL BE ANOTHER BUSY DAY WITH POTENTIAL HEAVY RAIN AND THE THREAT OF FLASH FLOODING. LARGE UPR LOW WL REMAIN OVR EASTERN UT THRU TODAY AND TONIGHT...SLOWLY SHIFTING NORTHWARD. THIS WILL ALLOW THE STREAM OF MOISTURE TO CONTINUE OVR EASTERN CO THRU THE DAY. LITTLE CHANGES WL BE MADE O THE ONGOING FORECAST AND WL GENERALLY HAVE LIKELY POPS OVR MOST OF THE FORECAST AREA TODAY AND TONIGHT. SHORTWAVE TROF LIFTING NORTH TO NORTHEAST ACRS THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON WL ALSO HELP TO INITIATE CONVECTION. ALTHOUGH MOST AREAS WL SEE LITTLE IN THE WAY OF PCPN THIS MORNING...BY AFTERNOON THE ACTIVITY WL INCREASE AND THE MODELS KEEP WIDESPREAD PCPN FROM THE EASTERN MTS TO THE ERN CO BORDER THRU MUCH OF THE NIGHT AS ANOTHER DISTURBANCE LIFTS NORTHWARD ACRS THE AREA. LOOKING AT MODEL FORECAST PCPN AMOUNTS...THE WALDO CANYON BURN SCAR GETS ANOTHER ROUND OF HEAVY PCPN LATE IN THE EVENING AND INTO THE EARLY MORNING HOURS FRI. CURRENTLY THERE IS A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH MIDNIGHT FOR TELLER AND EL PASO COUNTIES AND THIS TIME-FRAME STILL LOOKS OK. AS FOR WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA...THERE WILL BE GOOD CHANCES FOR PCPN TODAY AND THIS EVENING BUT PROBABLY NOT QUITE AS MUCH AS ERN AREAS. THERE WL STILL BE THE POTENTIAL FOR SOME LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN OVR WRN AREAS THAT COULD BE A THREAT TO BURN SCARS. .LONG TERM...(FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY) ISSUED AT 340 AM MDT THU SEP 12 2013 WILL KEEP LONG TERM DISCUSSION CONCISE DUE TO ONGOING ACTIVE CONDITIONS. PRIMARY LONGER TERM METEOROLOGICAL MESSAGE WILL BE CONTINUED WET CONDITIONS AT TIMES INTO THE WEEKEND WITH NEXT NORTHERLY SURGE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE AN UPSWING IN POP ACTIVITY AGAIN FROM SUNDAY INTO SUNDAY NIGHT. LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN AS WELL AS FLASH FLOODING...ESPECIALLY OVER AREA BURN SCARS WILL CONTINUE TO BE A CONCERN OVER THE CWFA INTO THE WEEKEND. A RETURN TO WARMER AND DRIER CONDITIONS SHOULD THEN BE NOTED OVER THE FORECAST DISTRICT BY NEXT WEEK IN COMBINATION WITH GENERALLY LOW-GRADE GRADIENT WINDS. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z FRIDAY AFTERNOON) ISSUED AT 1142 AM MDT THU SEP 12 2013 THE UPPER LEVEL LOW OVER WESTERN UTAH WILL CONTINUE TO BRING MOISTURE INTO THE REGION. KCOS AND KPUB...MOIST UPSLOPE FLOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE PERIOD WITH PERIODS OF RAIN AND SOME THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE. THE GREATEST CHANCES FOR RAIN IS BETWEEN AROUND 21Z AND 04Z. ANTICIPATE MOSTLY MVFR CONDITIONS WITH IFR CONDITIONS IN HEAVIER SHOWERS. KALS...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR THROUGH MID EVENING. SOME LOCAL MVFR ARE POSSIBLE IF A STRONGER STORM MOVES OVER THE REGION. && .PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH LATE TONIGHT FOR COZ072>088. && UPDATE...PGW AVIATION...PGW
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 1157 AM MDT THU SEP 12 2013 COZ058>089-093>099-131800- 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- 1157 AM MDT THU SEP 12 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL...EAST CENTRAL...SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS...AND ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TODAY AND TONIGHT. SOME LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN IS POSSIBLE AND COULD LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING CONCERNS THROUGH TONIGHT...ESPECIALLY OVER EASTERN TELLER AND WESTERN EL PASO COUNTIES...WHERE THE GROUND IS SATURATED AS A RESULT OF HEAVY RAIN THAT OCCURRED LATE LAST NIGHT AND EARLY THIS MORNING. OTHER STORM THREATS TODAY WILL INCLUDE CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING AND WIND GUSTS TO 45 MPH. THE GREATEST CHANCES FOR HEAVY RAINFALL AND FLASH FLOODING WILL BE FROM AROUND MID AFTERNOON TO THIS EVENING...AS AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE PASSES OVER THE REGION. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY WIDESPREAD SHOWER ACTIVITY IN COMBINATION WITH ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE INTO THIS WEEKEND. A NORTHERLY SURGE MOVING ACROSS THE REGION SUNDAY IS PROJECTED TO BRING A RENEWED THREAT OF LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AND POTENTIAL FLOODING...ESPECIALLY OVER ARE BURN SCARS...FROM SUNDAY INTO SUNDAY NIGHT. THE PRIMARY THUNDERSTORM THREATS WILL BE HAZARDOUS LIGHTNING AND HAIL GENERALLY UNDER 3/4 INCH IN DIAMETER. BY NEXT WEEK...DRIER AND WARMER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO RETURN TO SOUTHERN COLORADO. IN ADDITION...ACCUMULATING SNOW IS ANTICIPATED FOR ELEVATIONS ABOVE 12000 FEET THROUGH THIS WEEKEND WITH ELEVATIONS ABOVE 13000 FEET POTENTIALLY EXPERIENCING MODERATE SNOW AT TIMES. OUTDOOR ENTHUSIASTS AS WELL AS CLIMBERS AND HIKERS SHOULD EXPECT WINTER CONDITIONS ABOVE TREELINE INTO THIS WEEKEND. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER CONDITIONS THAT MEET REPORTING CRITERIA FOR SPOTTERS WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. 06/06
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
928 AM MDT THU SEP 12 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0927 AM HEAVY RAIN 2 WNW COLORADO SPRINGS 38.85N 104.85W
09/12/2013 M3.62 INCH EL PASO CO TRAINED SPOTTER
STORM TOTAL SINCE YESTERDAY
&&
PPERALESSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 938 AM MDT THU SEP 12 2013 COZ081-084-085-121630- COLORADO SPRINGS VICINITY/SOUTHERN EL PASO COUNTY/RAMPART RANGE BELOW 7400 FT-NORTHERN EL PASO COUNTY/MONUMENT RIDGE/RAMPART RANGE BELOW 7500 FT-TELLER COUNTY/RAMPART RANGE ABOVE 7500FT/PIKE'S PEAK BETWEEN 7500 AND 11000 FT- 938 AM MDT THU SEP 12 2013 ...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PUEBLO HAS ISSUED A SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR... THE WEST SIDE OF COLORADO SPRINGS AND THE WALDO BURN SCAR. AT 928 AM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED AN AREA OF HEAVY RAIN OVER SOUTHWEST EL PASO COUNTY OVER FORT CARSON. THIS RAIN IS PROGRESSING NORTH AT 15 MPH. IF THIS RAIN CONTINUES ON ITS PRESENT COURSE...THEN MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN WILL MOVE INTO THE WESTERN SECTIONS OF COLORADO SPRINGS AND THE WALDO BURN SCAR AFTER 10 AM. THESE AREAS ALREADY HAVE HAD HEAVY RAIN AND IT WILL NOT TAKE MUCH TO CAUSE ADDITIONAL FLASH FLOODING.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
1027 AM MDT THU SEP 12 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1026 AM HEAVY RAIN 4 WSW COLORADO SPRINGS 38.81N 104.88W
09/12/2013 M6.00 INCH EL PASO CO TRAINED SPOTTER
SINCE MIDNIGHT. STORM TOTAL 8.5 INCHES
&&
PPERALESPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
1034 AM MDT THU SEP 12 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1031 AM HEAVY RAIN 3 WSW COLORADO SPRINGS 38.82N 104.86W
09/12/2013 M0.04 INCH EL PASO CO TRAINED SPOTTER
FROM 1020 - 1030 AM.
&&
PPERALESPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
1105 AM MDT THU SEP 12 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1040 AM FLASH FLOOD 3 WNW COLORADO SPRINGS 38.85N 104.87W
09/12/2013 EL PASO CO AMATEUR RADIO
REPORTS OF 6 TO 8 INCHES OF WATER FLOWING ACROSS COLORADO
AVENUE AT 31ST STREET
&&
MWPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
1116 AM MDT THU SEP 12 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1116 AM HEAVY RAIN 2 WNW COLORADO SPRINGS 38.85N 104.85W
09/12/2013 M0.62 INCH EL PASO CO TRAINED SPOTTER
FROM 1030 TO 1115 AM.
&&
PPERALESThe Pueblo radar (KPUX), 48 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:01 UTC.
3 flood, 2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy rain upstream caused Fountain Creek near Fountain to go above flood stage.
Heavy rain caused the Fountain Creek at Nevada Avenue to go above flood stage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, September 2013
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: 478050, 473141, 478048, 473142, 473232.