Laserfiche WebLink
<br />th}>Usands/ ~res of cr and. N.or w n, d~s . e a vali s baggin ood fight by <br />G/)orgeto\vn re dents t<y reduce the cts of high on South Cree , om <br />r~d flood da <br /> <br />That's not to say there weren't damages and loss of life. Flood damages are estimated to <br />be $46.6 million. Many of the flood mitigation strategies which were implemented during the ~ <br />1984/ ana 1993..);100d seasons ~rovided the necessary p~otection in s,....1. pl"Gt:3 like. R edst?n~, <br />PaoIlllI.,--HgtcbkIfs, Grand-AmetIDn, Crested Butte, GunmSeIHUld Delta, Routt;. Mesa and Pltkm ~.1 <br />Counties ~ 17~:( f1., 1J710J. . <br /> <br />C <br /> <br />III. 1991 SPRING/SUMMER FLOOD EVENTS <br /> <br /> <br />~pt~ iL< ~~ 0);- <br /> <br />Introduction F~ Muh~ rl^"';~.J1:,"",",- r l1'i'> yr.... ~~v <br /> <br />Flood Threat '95 was the title chosen by the Colorado Flood Task Force and television ~~' <br />and radio stations alike as Colorado braced for what appeared to be the most serious flooding in <br />10 years (and possible record flooding statewide) from the melting of one of the state's largest <br />recorded snowpacks. Colorado didn't have particularly unusual winter weather in 1994-95, at <br />least until mid-April. At that point the snowpack was well on its way to being below average. <br />There were concerns about possible drought. However, the wet spring that began in mid-April <br />refused to leave the state until early to mid-June, causing an excess accumulation of wet snow in <br />many of the state's river basins. At a time when the snow that was already on the ground should <br />have been melting, not only was that snow remaining frozen, but new snow was accumulating on <br />top of it which resulted in extremely high (1200%) snowpack percentages. <br /> <br />But we got lucky!! When our warmest temperatures of the snowmelt flood season <br />occurred on June 14-16 (3 days in the 90's), cooler weather came to the rescue with a record low <br />high temperature of 59 degrees at Grand Junction on June 17. This cooling trend moderated the <br />snowmelt across Colorado. When hot weather returned in July, many of the state's mountain <br />watersheds did not have enough snowpack left to cause serious flood problems. (Residents of the <br />Roaring Fork River and Clear Creek valleys would certainly dispute that!) <br /> <br />Prior to the spring runoff season, the CWCB developed a model "Pre-Disaster Flood <br />Hazard Mitigation Plan" for use by local governments. Buena Vista, Poncha Springs, Pitkin <br />County, Frisco, and Summit County used parts of the plan prior to high water in their <br />communities. A number of communities began their own efforts at preparing for the flooding <br />