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<br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />Clinton and Sharon Tappy <br />70758 WCR 104, Stoneham <br /> <br />T9N R57W Sec 14NW <br />Original rain report: 13 3/4" from feed barrel <br /> <br />Evaluation: <br />It appears that this family was interviewed by one of the initial survey teams, but their 13. <br />3/4" rainfall total was not included in the CWCB tabulation. A 13.5" value was written on <br />one of the working maps provided by Tom Browning. <br /> <br />Clinton is an avid weather watcher and is equipped with a 4-inch diameter clear plastic <br />high capacity rain gauge, For several years he provided daily reports to Mountain States <br />Weather Services in Fort Collins, and now serves as a severe weather spotter for the <br />Denver National Weather Service Office. Unfortunately, he was not at home for the <br />storm having been at work in Fort Morgan working the evening shift. He recalls that rain <br />began that afternoon sometime after he left for work at 3 PM. Based on his wife's <br />recollections, Cottonwood Creek was rising rapidly around 10 PM. Water coming down <br />the hillside from the north began coming into their house around 10 PM. Sharon recalled <br />frequent lightning illuminating the rising water, but she recalled no hail at all. Sometime <br />later, the water went down quickly, That must have been when Highway 71 just east of <br />them washed out. <br /> <br />The next day when he got home his high-capacity rain gauge was completely full (holding <br />at least 10 inches). It had been empty, since he had measured and emptied 2.0 inches the <br />previous day, Nearby was a 20-gallon plastic barrel which had held cattle feed. It was <br />straight sided and stood about two feet high. He was sure it had been empty, in spite of <br />the rain the previous day. Based on a stick measurement in the barre~ he estimated a 24- <br />hour rainfall total from the storm of 13 3/4 inches. Using this value in combination with <br />daily readings from his 4-inch diameter gauge, he recorded a total of20.75 inches of rain <br />for the month of July, the most he had ever measured. An additional 3.63" fell in August. <br /> <br />In summary, this was a very credible and motivated weather observer doing a careful job <br />estimating rainfall. I was unable to see and measure a comparable 20-gallon receptacle to <br />verify its size and shape. Likewise, it is impossible to be sure that it was empty before the <br />storm. However, it is a certainty that at least ten inches of rain fell after 3 PM on the <br />29th, so the 13 3/4" estimate is reasonable with "B" confidence. <br /> <br />Jake and Jewell Artzer <br />49905 WCR 137.5, New Raymer <br /> <br />T 9N R 57W Sec 28 <br />Original rainfall report: 14" from stock tank <br /> <br />Evaluation: <br />This elderly couple had lived here for many years along the normally dry creek bed of <br />Pawnee Creek but had never seen flooding so severe, even in June 1965. Most of their <br />small dams that provide water for their cattle were washed out, and they cannot afford to <br />replace them. Their house and outbuildings are all near Pawnee Creek, and they were <br />surrounded by rushing water. They recall the rain coming in from the NE with the <br />heaviest rain beginning before dark and quickly becoming very intense. They were <br /> <br />10 <br />