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<br />I> <br /> <br />In Arvada, flooding upstream of <br />Pomona Drive and Wadsworth came <br />very close to damaging homes while <br />low area flooding west of the <br />intersection made the street impassable. <br />At the former site of the Valley Mobile <br />Manor where 56th Ave. crosses Ralston <br />Creek, some of the old concrete slab <br />channel wall panels collapsed. The <br />relocation of this mobile home parle in <br />1996 by Arvada and the District clearly <br />prevented damages here. Arvada <br />residents reported rainfall amounts of 3 <br />to 3.25" from this storm. <br />In Columbine Valley, Drainageway <br />'E' overtopped Platte Canyon Road. <br /> <br />Monday, August 11: <br />Insurance companies, affected <br />homeowners and gardeuing enthusiasts <br />will remember this day. Hail depths of <br />up to 2 feet, driving rains and high <br />winds caused an estimated $150-million <br />in damage in Lakewood and Denver. A <br />rainfall amount of I" in IO-minutes was <br />measured by the Cherry Creek gage in <br />downtown Denver, and after the hail <br />melted, the total measured precipitation <br />exceeded 2 inches. Cherry Creek <br />flowed wall-to-wall at a depth of <br />approximately 5 feet and a peak <br />discharge of 2640 cfs. This was the <br />second highest measurement for Cherry <br />Creek this year, exceeded only by the <br />July 28 event. <br /> <br />Thursday, September 4: <br />Not withstanding the October 24 <br />snow storm, this day may have been the <br />last hurrah for heavy precipitation in <br />Denver for 1997. Cherry Creek flowed <br />wall-to-wall once again as captored by <br />late eveuing news reports. Steve <br />Paulson, Meteorologist for KMGH- <br />Channel 7 News, opened the eveuing <br />news broadcast with a report <br />conceruing Denver's weather. Data <br />obtained from the ALERT system was <br />reported while the event was still in <br />progress. Five rain gages had alarmed <br />(1" in less than I-hour) by 9:45 p.m. <br />The locations and amounts were <br />accurately reported to the public at the <br />start of the 10 p.m. broadcast. Live <br />video of Cherry Creek was shown later <br />during the program's normal weather <br />segment and Steve made excellent use <br /> <br />r <br /> <br />of the ALERT stream gage data to <br />describe current flow conditions. The <br />District appreciates the cooperation of <br />our local news media and the worldng <br />partnerships that have developed. <br /> <br />Some statistical ract.!: <br />The official July rainfall total for <br />Denver of 5.60" made 1997 the second <br />wettest July in Denver's 126-year <br />record, with the average for the month <br />being just under 2 inches. The wettest <br />July was in 1965 with an official <br />amount of 6.41 inches. Six ALERT <br />rain gages in Denver and Aurora <br />exceeded the 5.60" official total <br />measured at DlA. The maximum <br />ALERT rainfall for July (6.38" at <br />Granby Ditch) occurred in Aurora near <br />Buckley Air Force Base. <br />Denver's wettest August was 1979, <br />with a record total of 5.85 inches. The <br />official 1997 August total was 3.52" <br />and the maximum ALERT raiofall of <br />4.53" was measured in Aurora. Nine <br />other gages in the network also <br />recorded amounts exceeding 4 inches <br />(Table 2). Denver's average rainfall for <br />the month of August is 1.65 inches. <br />Recalling that six counties in <br />Colorado experienced storm rainfalls <br />exceeding 10" in 1997, it is interesting <br />to note the total rainfall for the wettest <br /> <br />Table 2 - JO-day rainfall totals <br />endin Au st 17 1997 inches: <br />LOCATION AMOUNT <br />Aurora (6th & Buckley) 10.0 <br />Aurora (Utah Park) 8.2 <br />Broomfield 7.5 <br />Denver (Southeast) 7.9 <br />Denver (downtown) 6.9 <br />Lakewood 6.4 <br />Arvada 5.2 <br />Louisville 5.2 <br />Boulder Co. (Gross) 5.2 <br />Golden 5.1 <br />Boulder Canyon 4.9 <br />Wheat Ridge 4.7 <br />Commerce City 4.5 <br />Morrison 4.2 <br />Thornton 4.1 <br />Boulder 3.8 <br /> <br />30-day period measured by the ALERT <br />system <br />An article elsewhere in this Flood <br />Hazard News contains additional <br />information about the ALERT system, <br />the 1997 Flash Flood Prediction <br />Program, and other related activities. <br />Flood documentation is a routine <br />function of the District's Floodplain <br />Management Program and the <br />information gathered is available for <br />public inspection upon request. <br /> <br /> <br />Flood Pictures: Top Little Dr:y Creek (814): Left - Pedestrian bridge dislodgl'd. Right: Mainline <br />railroad tracks threatened. Bottom Goldsmith Gulch (7/27): Left _ Iliff detention (lODd. Right _ <br />Downstream from Yale AVe. <br /> <br />19 <br />