Laserfiche WebLink
<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 />Data Collection <br /> <br />Field work and analysis were undertaken and completed by the Colorado Climate Center <br />in late July and early August, 1998, one year after the storm. Five days offield work were <br />conducted to obtain as much information as possible about rainfall on July 29, 1997 into <br />the early morning hours ofJuly 30. Many of the residents were contacted and interviewed <br />who had provided rainfall observations or estimates immediately after the storm. Special <br />emphasis was made in this post-evaluation to determine how much rain had already fallen <br />in the hours and days immediately preceding the flood-producing storm, <br /> <br />The post analysis consisted of four categories of data collection: <br /> <br />1) Review ofWSR-88D radar data and associated rainfall estimates from the National <br />Weather Service radar located east of Denver (graciously provided by Matt Kelsch of <br />NOAA-FSL in Boulder, CO). <br /> <br />2) Site visits and personal interviews with residents who had previously been surveyed <br />who witnessed the storm and! or measured the rainfall. These included locating and <br />examining the rain gauge( s) or other receptacles that had been used in July 1997 to <br />determine rainfall amounts. (Note: Site visits were time consuming and were generally <br />limited to those sites in and near the core of maximum rainfall.) <br /> <br />3) Phone interviews with residents surrounding the core of heaviest rainfall who had <br />previously been surveyed. <br /> <br />4) Phone interviews and personal visits with residents of the area who had witnessed the <br />storm but had not been included in the preliminary surveys. <br /> <br />Field work consisted of: 1) a one-day trip to the New Raymer area on Saturday, July 25, <br />1998 to gather names, addresses and phone numbers and to set up appointments to meet <br />residents in the area hardest hit by the storm, 2) a half-day trip to Boulder, Colorado <br />Monday, July 27 to meet with Matt Kelsch and examine rainfall estimates from National <br />Weather Service radar, 3) a 3-day trip to the Sterling area July 28-30 to conduct site visits <br />and interviews, and 4) follow-up phone calls made August 3-10, 1998 from Colorado <br />State University to individuals in the affected area that were not previously contacted, <br /> <br />Although a year had elapsed since the storm, the residents of the area were extremely <br />cooperative and went out of their way to provide the information needed to complete this <br />study. While the area where the heaviest rains fell was very sparsely populated <br />(approximately one occupied farm or ranch house per ten square miles for the region north <br />of Colorado Highway 14 up to the Nebraska border), the majority of people in this <br />ranching and farming area were found to be conscientious weather watchers who routinely <br />measure and record rainfall each day throughout the summer. Many individuals maintain <br /> <br />2 <br />