FLOOD00305 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

the study basin is approximately 18.5 inches. Temperatures range from a high of over lOooF to a low of below zero. Vegetation consists of widely scattered stands of trees and plains grasses. 2.3 Principal Flood Problems Floodflows in the area of Wray generally result from high-intensity, short-duration, cloudburst-type thunderstorms (Reference 3). Most of these thunderstorms occur from late spring to late summer. Due to the nature of these highly localized storms, the runoff is characterized by a quick buildup to a peak and then a tapering off. The City of Wray is known to have had a very short history of flooding. Information on the earlier historical floods that have occurred in the study area is very limited because operation of the gaging station at Wray was discontinued during all periOdS of heavy rainfall. The only other gage in the area is at the Colorado-Nebraska State line, and it showed only one flood event in 37 years. For these reasons, newspaper files, historical docu- ments, interviews with local residents, and other records were used to obtain all available information. Dates and accounts of rainfalls and flOOding were taken from the various sources listed above (Table 1). The maximum rainfall record of Wray, the storm of April 27, 1947, is documented in the following excerpt from the "Monthly Weather Review," published by the U.S. Weather Bureau: "One of the worst storms in many years. 6.60 inches of rain recorded. Many persons forced to leave home and flee from high water which poured off surrounding hills and ran through town. 6-8 inches of hail, as measured on the level, was carried by floodwaters and built into banks 5-6 feet deep against obstructions. Holes pounded in roofs; cellars flooded a few inches up to 8 or more feet. Some homes flooded with several feet of water, hail, and debris. Almost no home in Wray escaped entirely from damage. Automobiles parked at curbs were floated up a block, carried over curbs, and slammed against trees. Light service was not affected." Hydrologic studies of this event indicate that the storm did not occur in the North Fork Republican River basin above Wray, but was concentrated in a small area directly Over the city. This event, however, is a good example of the cloudburst-type activity which is prevalent in this region. A recurrence of an event of this magnitude centered on the North Fork Republican River basin above Wray could have disastrous conse- quences in the flood plain area. Excerpts from the Wray Gazette for May 14 and September 7, 1951, and July 1, 1962, are included below as an indication of other flood experiences: 5