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<br /> <br />constantly monitored as the rains <br />started. "Radar shows intensity and you <br />can approximate within certain ranges <br />the rainfall rate. . . but we never got <br />what we considered to be the flash flood <br />intensity." <br />Forecaster John Schwab also said he <br />did not think the balky machine 90 miles <br />from his office "was a big factor" as he <br />worked to provide precious data on the <br />night of the flood. <br />But Robert Beck of the National <br />Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- <br />tion, assigned to direct an investigation <br />of the performance of the Denver office <br />in dealing with the flood, had other <br />thoughts. <br />Beck said his team was unanimous in <br />deciding the faulty machine "did <br />degrade the capability of Schwab to get <br />a precise warning out as quickly as he <br /> <br />would have been able to if he had had it <br />(the machine)." <br />The machine, which broke down the <br />day before the deluge, is monitored by a <br />weather service employee. The <br />forecaster in Denver is responsible for <br />interpreting the radar data and issuing <br />reports. <br />Beck said that because the machine <br />wasn't working, Schwab had to spend <br />time on the telephone to the technician <br />in Limon and could not be as precise in <br />pinpointing storms as he could have <br />been had he actually seen the radar <br />screen. <br />Meanwhile, officials said the crest of <br />the river during the flood may never be <br />known. <br />Grace said the only river gauge was in <br />the north fork of the Big Thompson, <br />and it was washed away. <br />.>'_ .,;.l '~l'l 'Jj.~'ot.-, <br /> <br />He said the depth would have varied <br />along the canyon, particularly in the <br />"narrows" where it is "squeezed <br />together." The river runs generally west <br />to east. <br />Grace said the freakish rains were <br />"unusual, anywhere, anytime." <br />The list of persons missing is being <br />carefully monitored. One sheriff's <br />deputy said that it was believed most of <br />the persons on the list had escaped the <br />flood without notifying officials. "We <br />feel that the greater portion of the <br />persons on the list we will eventually <br />confirm are alive." <br />The outer edges of the storm system <br />produced rains in parts of Wyoming and <br />Kansas. Streams in north central and <br />southern Wyoming ran high and some <br />flooding of croplands and campgrounds <br />was reported. There were, however, no <br /> <br />25 <br />