The great floods of 2013, Colorado
I live nowhere near the flood areas, but my sisters and their families live in Boulder and Colorado Springs. Last night my sister in Boulder was trapped for a few hours because streets on the north and south of her house turned into rivers. Her house still stands, thankfully. The Broadway bridge over Boulder Creek is usually about 15 feet from the water, yesterday the water was within inches of the bridge.
The Twitter hashtag #COFloods is a good resource for news and images on this significant weather event.
So far, about 172 people are unaccounted for in Boulder County. There are 4 confirmed fatalities. Residents were being rescued by helicopter all day today in the little mountain community of Jamestown, CO.
The weather is expected to dry out and we’ll get a more detailed picture of the damage. Initial reports aren’t looking good.
#coflood Here is a picture of some of the damage on US 34 in Big Thompson Canyon. pic.twitter.com/RMZ1uRCn9a
— CDOT (@ColoradoDOT) September 14, 2013
Copter 4 captures #coflood devastation in two aerial tours. WATCH: https://t.co/8RQmzKtGd4 #boulderflood pic.twitter.com/kya3poRVpQ
— CBSDenver (@CBSDenver) September 14, 2013
This flood has been reported in media as a “100-year flood,” though scientists are trying to change that. Meteorologists actually define this as a flood that has a .1% chance of happening on any given day. Very long odds, indeed.
Boulder is home to many scientists, so no doubt this weather event will be scrutinized and studied, as it should. With weather records going back hundreds of years and many many records being shattered regularly, climate science surely is something we as a species cannot ignore.
With those thoughts, here’s a cute picture taken from the floods.
RT @northfortynews: A mouse clings to a piece of wood in South Platte River flood waters east of Greeley. #cofloods pic.twitter.com/8U9cvXdpEC
— Charlie Vogel (@teleskiguy) September 13, 2013