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<br />O~1820 <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />July 22, 19a5. This flood resulted from a purely local <br />storm of the "cloud burst" ty.pe on 90 square miles of the central <br />portion of the watershed. In Mr. J. H. Bailey's report of that flood, <br />made shortly after the storm, it is stated that fOr the Burro <br />Canyon area an intense rainfall of about 5 inches in 40 minutes <br />was indicated from measurements in a receptacle. U. S. Weather <br />Bureau stations at Trinidad and Clear View reported 0.69 and 2.85 <br />inches respectively for the storm. A sustained peak flow for <br />two hours of 26,500 second-feet resulted at Trinidad with a probable <br />maximum of 30000 second-feet. The total runoff is estimated, by <br />the writer, to be 11300 acre-feet. <br />Storms over the Purgatoire River Watershed <br />storms affecting the drainage basin of the Purgatoire <br />River fall into three distinct classes. One consists of general <br />rains of low intensity continuing for several days. This type <br />produces no large floods and is not further considered herein. <br />The second is the familiar "cloudburst" type, with maximum <br />intensities rarely recorded at Weather Bureau stations. That they <br />do oocur with extreme intensity over small areas is known largely <br />from the resulting floOds. It has been suggested that these storms <br />are produced in this area by the "funnel" arrangement of the <br />mountains and foothills, drawing moisture laden air masses inward <br /> <br /> <br />from the plains, which, upon being forced upwards by the mountains, <br /> <br /> <br />precipitate at contact with colder air n~sses at the higher eleva- <br /> <br /> <br />tions. This type is well represented by the PueblO storm of June <br /> <br />42 <br /> <br />