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<br />'. <br /> <br />3 <br /> <br />Colorado Extreme Precipitation <br />Storm List Documentation <br /> <br />Introduction <br /> <br />The Colorado Climate Center at Colorado State University was enlisted by the <br />State of Colorado, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water Resources in <br />1994 to assemble comprehensive information concerning known extreme precipitation <br />events. Information on extreme precipitation is relevant for many engineering, design, <br />environmental and safety issues. It is essential knowledge for the construction and <br />maintenance of permanent dams, spillways and water diversion structures. <br /> <br />The following document is an inventory of known heavy precipitation events that <br />have occurred in or near Colorado in recorded history. This list is the foundation for <br />evaluating previous estimates of Probable Maximum Precipitation in and near the <br />mountains in Colorado and for making revised estimates if warranted. <br /> <br />Storm selection has been objective, but some arbitrary decisions have been made. <br />In general, to be included on the list, the maximum point rainfall for a storm needed to <br />exceed the 100-year storm for the specified storm duration based on return period rainfall <br />pub!i~hed in NOAA Atlas 2 - Volume ill (COl.ORADO). However, exceptions were <br />made for storms with unusually large areal extents or, other unique features. Some storms <br />meeting neither of these criteria remain on this list if they have been a part of previous <br />U.S. Bureau of Reclamation storm studies. Several winter storms surpassing these criteria <br />have not been included since precipitation fell totally or primarily as snow and, therefore, <br />did not contribute to flooding in any immediate sense. <br /> <br />For each storm identified on this list a hard-copy file containing supporting data <br />and information is available at the Colorado Climate Center. For many storms, supporting <br />information is extremely limited. In a few cases, comprehensive meteorological and <br />hydrological information are available. During 1996, the storm list and supporting <br />information will be used to identifY a subset of the most extreme storms on record - <br />those storms that may be most indicative of how heavy it could conceivable rain over the <br />long-term future. <br /> <br />Stonn List Documentation <br /> <br />This list of Extreme Precipitation events contains locations, dates and very brief <br />descriptive information of heavy precipitation events listed in chronological order. It is <br />intended to be a simple source reference to identifY and recall heavy storms. Most storms <br />occurred in Colorado, but storms from surrounding states have been included when it <br />