{"id":1351,"date":"2026-11-11T02:30:35","date_gmt":"2026-11-11T02:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climate.colostate.edu\/blog\/?p=1351"},"modified":"2026-11-11T03:08:15","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T03:08:15","slug":"even-more-heavy-rainfall-and-destructive-flooding-in-southwest-colorado","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climate.colostate.edu\/blog\/index.php\/2026\/11\/11\/even-more-heavy-rainfall-and-destructive-flooding-in-southwest-colorado\/","title":{"rendered":"Early November brought even more heavy rainfall and destructive flooding in southwest Colorado"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This update is later than I had intended—last week was busy, with an excellent Lower Arkansas Valley water summit<\/a> in Rocky Ford, and our fall Colorado Climate Center staff retreat. (Rest assured that you have an outstanding group of people committed to being the best a state climate office can be here in Colorado!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But us being busy at work is nothing compared to what the communities in southwest Colorado have gone through lately. Major flooding followed from a truly extreme rainstorm in late October<\/a>. Then, around ten days later, another<\/strong> wave of tropical moisture moved into the southwestern United States and caused even worse flooding in many locations. At Pagosa Springs, the San Juan river crested even higher than in the flood the week before (or the flood last October). It’s possible that the flood crest was even higher than shown here owing to issues with the stream gage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hydrograph for the San Juan River at Pagosa Springs, showing the flood crests in late October and on November 2<\/em>. From water.noaa.gov.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The damage was widespread, with homes lost and many crucial roadways washed out<\/a>. The fate of the Pagosa Springs museum became one of the images that defined the flood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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