High-Impact Weather and Climate Events

"La Plata County Levees and Dikes, 2006: In 2006, La Plata County experienced prolonged and heavy rainfall over October 5 and 6. Vallecito Creek overflowed, resulting in flash flooding. Levees and dikes built in the 1970s along the Creek breached on the night of October 6." - CO Hazard Mitigation Plan 2018-2023

The Thorn Divide Complex began as 26 lightning-ignited fires. Before firefighters contained the fire, 14,874 acres and 2 buildings were burned. Supression costs were estimated at $7 million.

The Jackson Canyon Wildfire was ignited by a lightning strike near Coal Mountain in Jackson Canyon. The fire burned 11,256 acres of land, including seven cabins, one barn, and two outbuildings before it was contained on August 23. The estimated cost of suppression was $3.8 million.

Escalante River Flood. "The flooding of the Escalante River in 2006 resulted in widespread destruction of most of the roads in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. Hundreds of people were stranded during the flooding in many of the National Parks and Monuments. Many roads remained unrepaired for up to 5 years. The Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument was closed to visitors. The rainfall and runoff from this event caused Lake Powell to rise by 5 feet during this storm. Hanksville was also heavily damaged and irrigation systems were destroyed." - National Weather Service

"A tornado touched down 1 mile north of Wright and traveled southeast into the town. It crossed Wyoming Highway 387, slammed into a mobile home park, and dissipated a half mile from the highway before reaching the elementary school and Wright Blvd on the southeast edge of the park. It damaged 120 of the approximately 250 homes in the park; 91 were completely destroyed. Roofs, porches, siding, and trees sustained light damage from the strong wind gusts. Two people were killed and 13 injured; all were in mobile homes." - NOAA

After six years of drought, the Virgin River basin experienced heavy rain in October 2004, resulting in minor flooding and saturating the soil heading into the winter. During January 8th - 12th a Pacific storm system produced between 0.7" and 7.7" of rain on soil that was highly saturated, resulting in significant flooding. Damages included 30 homes destroyed and 20 more significantly damaged.

"In 2005, 12 inches of precipitation fell in a 48-hour period over southwest Utah. Record flows of over 6,000 cubic feet per second on the Santa Clara River destroyed over 28 homes adjacent to the river. Homes along the river had been built on river sediments deposited from earlier flooding. When this storm occurred, the sediments that the homes had been built on quickly eroded. The Upper Still Reservoir was also damaged by the flood and had to be drained for repairs to take place. Early estimates from Washington County placed the total damage of the devastating floods that occurred during the second week of January 2005 at roughly $150 to $180 million, with another $100 million possibly needed for river reclamation efforts. The raging waters of the Santa Clara River, and to a lesser extent the Virgin River, reached flows not seen in this part of the country since floods carried away several settlements and settlers during the winter of 1862." - National Weather Service

A rockslide/debris flow closed the east entrance of Yellowstone on Highway 14/16/20, trapping three vehicles. The road was closed for one week.

"Beginning Christmas day, a three-day storm clobbered northern Utah, depositing heavy, wet snow. Trees and power lines collapsed under the weight of the snow, leaving more than 70,000 people without power. Emergency shelters were opened in Salt Lake City and Ogden. More than 15,000 traffic accidents were reported during the three-day period. On December 26, a large avalanche released near Aspen Grove, claiming the lives of three people." - Deseret News

A strong upper-level shortwave produced a long-lived supercell thunderstorm. The storm produced several tornadoes which touched down with no damage. Golf-ball to baseball-sized hail was experienced across Campbell and Crook Counties, causing extensive damage to cars and roofs.

A very strong three-day upslope snowstorm brought huge snow amounts and blizzard conditions to most of the Front Range and the adjacent plains. Storm totals included 32" in Denver, and 87" in Rollinsville.