Colorado, Utah
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January 01, 2018
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Drought
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"Gov. Herbert declares drought emergency for all of Utah." An extreme to exceptional drought centered on the 4-corners region began in mid-February 2018 and lasted almost an entire year, with relief from the exceptional drought designation lifting finally in January 2019. Almost the entire states of Utah and Arizona, northern New Mexico, and the southwestern portion of Colorado were under severe, extreme, or exceptional drought designation for much of the year. For the 2018 water year, the USGS stream gage on the San Juan River near Bluff, Utah, (09379500) broke its 92-year record for lowest total discharge, 481.8 kaf (the average has been 2.94 maf). It was the driest water year on record (beginning 1895) for the state of Utah, with 8.07" of precipitation, and in Colorado, it was the driest since 2002 with 12.8" of precipitation. According to the Salt Lake Tribune,16 of Utah’s major reservoirs were less than 20 percent full at the end of water year 2018, prompting the governor to declare a drought emergency for the state that was not rescinded until October 2019." - Salt Lake Tribune
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Colorado
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Montezuma, La Plata
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Dolores, Durango
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June 01, 2018
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Wildfire
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$44,815,100.00
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$38,500,000.00
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416 & Burro Fire Complex. The 416 Fire started on June 1, 2018 and was fully contained by July 31. It burned 54,000 acres, mostly in the San Juan National Forest, and cost $25M to fight, but there was no loss of life or structure. Total estimated cost was $35.5M. Investigators determined that it was caused by burning particles from the exhaust stack of a coal-burning steam locomotive owned and operated by the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Company. The federal government sued the railroad company in 2019. The Burro Fire started June 8, 2018 and was contained August 1 after burning 4600 acres of the San Juan National Forest. Investigators determined that it was human-caused, though the exact cause was not found. The Burro Fire cost $3M to fight. At one point the two fires nearly merged, coming within a few miles of each other.
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Colorado
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El Paso
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Colorado Springs, Fountain
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June 13, 2018
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Hail
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$196,721,000.00
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$169,000,000.00
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"A rare nocturnal severe thunderstorm developed over southern El Paso County during the early morning hours of June 13th, 2018. The severe thunderstorm dropped 3.0" hail over the southern Colorado Springs metropolitan area and Fountain. The estimated damage caused by this event was around $169 million dollars. Follow this link for an in-depth meteorological analysis and for more images: https://www.weather.gov/pub/20180613_ElPaso_Hail" - National Weather Service
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Colorado
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Boulder, Broomfield, Adams, Weld, Morgan
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Boulder, Louisville, Lafayette, Broomfield, Northglenn, Brighton, Fort Morgan
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June 18, 2018
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Hail
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$2,400,000,000.00
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"On the evening of June 18th, a severe storm in northern Colorado produced baseball-sized hail and powerful winds. The storm damaged cars and homes in the Boulder area, before moving northeast toward Fort Morgan, where 70 mph winds and baseball-sized hail wreaked havoc in Morgan County. Storm reports included heavy rain in many parts of Colorado, with funnel clouds and tornadoes in the Eastern Plains." - NOAA NCEI
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Colorado
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Costilla, Huerfano
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Fort Garland, La Veta
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June 27, 2018
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Wildfire
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$40,741,000.00
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$35,000,000.00
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The Spring Creek Fire started on June 27 and was contained on 9/6. The fire burned 108,045 acres, was human caused, and had an estimated cost of $35M. More than 140 homes were lost and another 120 were damaged. The fire was human caused and a Danish man on an expired visa was charged.
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Colorado
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Teller, El Paso
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Colorado Springs
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August 06, 2018
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Hail
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$201,377,000.00
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$173,000,000.00
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"A very strong severe thunderstorm develop over Teller County during the afternoon of August 6th, 2018, then traveled southeast over the Highway 24 corridor, reaching the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. The severe thunderstorm dropped 3 - 4" hailstones over the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and southern Colorado Springs. The estimated damage caused by this event was $173 million. A good overview of the injuries at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo can be found here. Follow this link for a meteorological write-up of the event: https://www.weather.gov/pub/20180806_ElPasoHail" - National Weather Service
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Utah
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Juab, Sanpete, Utah
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September 06, 2018
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Wildfire
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$5,470,940.00
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$4,700,000.00
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"The Pole Creek Fire was a lightning-caused fire in Juab, Sanpete, and Utah counties in central Utah in the Western United States. The fire is the largest in Utah in 2018. The fire was first reported on Thursday September 6, 2018. It merged with the Bald Mountain Fire on Monday September 17, 2018. An area of 100,000 acres was burned." - Wikipedia
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Wyoming
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Lincoln, Sublette
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September 15, 2018
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Wildfire
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"The Roosevelt Fire started south of Jackson, Wyoming on September 15 and was fully contained on October 5. It burned 61,511 acres in Bridger-Teton National Forest. The fire was reportedly started by a fire abandoned by hunters or campers. The fire prompted evacuations news Bondurant and Pinedale, Wyoming. Fifty-five homes in the Hoback Ranches subdivision near Bondurant." - 101.9 KING FM
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Colorado
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Pitkin
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March 09, 2019
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Avalanche
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"An avalanche off Highlands Ridge over the weekend deposited tons of snow in Conundrum Creek Valley, snapped hundreds of mature trees and threatened a house. “This is as big of an avalanche as this terrain can produce,” said Brian Lazar, deputy director of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. “This is a landscape-changing event.” The avalanche broke over a mile wide and ran more than 3,000 vertical feet downhill, CAIC estimated from aerial observations. Lazar said it started just outside the boundary of Aspen Highlands ski area. The snow and debris fell with such force that it kept going once it hit the valley floor, traveling a couple hundred feet up the east slope and then spilling downvalley." - The Aspen Times
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Colorado, Wyoming
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March 13, 2019
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Winter Storm, High Wind, Flood
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4
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$4,573,250,000.00
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$4,000,000,000.00
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A record-breaking blizzard developed across portions of Colorado Wyoming and Nebraska on March 13th and 14th, 2019. The record-setting area of low pressure reached a minimum central pressure of 971 mb across eastern Colorado. This set an all-time pressure record for the state.
La Junta recorded its strongest wind gust during the bomb cyclone — an 88 mph gust. An 80 mph gust recorded at Denver International Airport during the heart of the storm made it the strongest non-thunderstorm wind gust recorded there. Winds reached a record 96 mph in Colorado Springs.
The "Bomb" Cyclone rapidly intensified from the evening of the 12th through the morning of the 13th. This rapid intensification brought extremely strong winds and very strong dynamic lift which generated extremely heavy snowfall over Wyoming and Nebraska (www.weather.gov). Subsequently, the blizzard resulted in widespread flooding across the US (www.cnn.com), affecting many states.
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