High-Impact Weather and Climate Events

Extreme snowmelt flooding on the Colorado River. Estimated peak discharge of ~210,000 cfs downstream at Lees Ferry, AZ, the largest flood in the historical record (since ~1850). Peak discharges upstream in western Colorado are believed to be the largest in the historical record. Severe flooding on the Cache la Poudre River on the eastern slope.

"What today stands as a ghost town was once a thriving settlement built along railroad tracks for the Denver, South Park & Pacific Railway. The only problem? It was built right along an avalanche slide path. On that fateful March day, 18 of the 200 residents who lived there were buried in the avalanche that swept over the town, destroying buildings and ripping up trees. Thirteen were killed, including the six children of Mrs. Marcella Doyle, who ran a boarding house for railroad men. The town was never rebuilt. Tunnel Gulch was built downgrade, out of the avalanche slide path, about a half-mile away." - 9News

"An avalanche swept away buildings, including a shaft house that buried and killed eight men." - 9News

"A snowslide that crashed down the valley near the Whale mine buried cabins, killing a family and four others. The storm nearly killed another man named George Cardier, who relayed his experience in the Colorado Miner, saying the force of the avalanche knocked off his socks and boots. Cardier survived when the cabins created a barrier around him, diverting the snow." - 9News

Lakota Sioux people are said to have set the Bighorn Fire while retreating from General Crook's troops. It is estimated that the fire burned 500,000 acres. A first-hand account says that on August 3, "a terrible red glow" lit up the midnight sky," and looking westward, they saw "the whole front of the Big Horn mountains on fire."

Heavy rainfall on Plum Creek headwaters caused severe flooding on Plum Creek, Cherry Creek, and the South Platte River.

"At the time of the 1864 flood what was then known as “Denver City” rested on the northeastern banks of Cherry Creek. A snowy winter, heavy spring rain and an unusually violent thunderstorm caused horrendous flash flooding along Cherry Creek. Pioneers had built in the dry bed of Cherry Creek, despite warnings by Arapaho Chief Little Raven. One night a six-foot wall of water came crashing down the creek. The flood killed 15 to 20 people and did an estimated $1 million worth of property damage. Today, American Historian, Dr. Tom Noel, notes, in writing for the Denver Post, “Learning a lesson from that great flood and several others that followed it, Denverites have given Cherry Creek much more room with a walled channel, a greenway and a grassy tree lined boulevard. As Coloradans rebuild, consider giving all our waterways plenty of roomy green space." - Mile High Flood District

Rain-on-snow event; primary accounts describe the flood as a wall of water 10-15' high, carrying trees and logs. The flood destroyed Fort Clara, the grist mill, schoolhouse, and 7 houses. The event also killed livestock and destroyed much of the orchards and fields.