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<br />Flood of September 1938, On 2 September after heavy cloudbursts, the Big <br />Thompson River valley was again flooded, The highway in the canyon was damaged and <br />closed for repairs. Many bridges were destroyed and some homes were damaged. On <br />11 and 12 September, heavy rains again caused serious flash flooding in the canyon and <br />the valley, Serious damages to the agricUltural crops resulted in the plains area. <br /> <br />I' <br /> <br />Flood of June 1949, Heavy rains in the headwaters area of the Big Thompson River <br />basin resulted in a peak disctlarge on 4 June of 3,330 cfs at tI1e Drake station and 7,750 <br />cfs at the Loveland station. Rainfall amounts on 4 June were 2.75 inches at Estes Park <br />and 3.66 inches at Waterdale. Between 4 and 7 June, Estes Park received 3.92 inches <br />of rainfall while Waterdale received 5.30 inches. Lowland areas west of Loveland were <br />flooded and U,S. Highway 34 to Estes Park was damaged. <br /> <br />Flood of August 1951. On 2 and 3 August 1951, intense rains over much of tI1e basin <br />caused severe flooding along the Big Thompson River from Buckhorn Creek to the moutl1. <br />The peak discharge at Drake was 3,530 cts on 3 August At the river moutl1, tI1e flow <br />peaked at 6,100 cts on 4 August, Estes Park received 1.31 inches of rain during 2 and 3 <br />August; Waterdale measured 4.64 inches, of which 4.18 inches fell on 2 August. On <br />Buckhorn Creek, a dam containing about 1,000 acre-feet of stored water, failed at 10:00 <br />p.m. on 3 August. The flood crest reached Loveland at 11:30 p.m. and the peak tI1ere was <br />estimated to be 22,000 cts. The river was reported to be a mile wide in places. Numerous <br />rural homes were flooded, many swept from their foundations. One mile of U.S. Highway <br />34 west of Loveland was washed away. Irrigation works, such as d"lVersion dams and <br />canals, were destroyed, crop loss was heavy, and tI1ere was much sediment and erosion <br />damage. The lives of four people were lost and many were left homeless. Total damages <br />from tI1e fJood were estimated at $602,000. <br /> <br />Flood of July 1976. Heavy ralnfaU, amounting to as much as 12 Inches In 4 hours, fell <br />on tI1e evening of 31 July In tI1e upper Big Thompson River basin In tI1e general vicinity <br />of Estes Park, Glen Haven, and Drake. The Intense rainfall produced large amounts of <br />runoff on tributaries of tI1e Big Thompson River as well as on tI1e Big Thompson River <br />itself. Flash flood conditions prevailed from tI1e rainfall area downstream to tI1e moutl1 of <br />tI1e Big Thompson River canyon west of Loveland. The estimated peak discharge at the <br />U.S.G.S. stream gaging station located on tI1e Big Thompson River 6 miles east of Drake <br />was 31 ,200 cts - about 4 times larger than tI1e previous recorded peak discharge. It is <br />estimated tI1at the drainage area contributing to tI1e flood hydrograph at the canyon mouth <br />was about 70 square miles out of tI1e total drainage area of 304 square miles at tI1is point. <br />Damages from this flood were estimated at about $35.000,000 in Larimer County and <br />about $45,000 in Weld County. One hundred thirty-nine bodies were recovered in the <br />flood aftermath with six persons listed as still missing. <br /> <br />Colorado Flood <br />Hydrology Manual <br /> <br />4.9 <br /> <br />a:w:r <br />