Jun 5, 2008 4:23 pm US/Mountain
Heavy Rains Cause Mud Slides In Boulder County
CBS4 forecaster Ed Greene and reporter Shaun Boyd contributed to this story.
DENVER (CBS4) ―
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Copter4 image of a mud slide in Boulder County on Thursday.
CBS
Several mud and rock slides in the Jamestown and Allenspark areas of Boulder County caused problems on Thursday, sheriff's officials said.
Two slides happened at about 7:30 a.m. where Left Hand Canyon splits and becomes James Canyon.
In the afternoon there were five more slides, with three in that same area. The other two happened on Peak to Peak Highway near Allenspark.
One boulder that landed on the Peak to Peak Highway is reportedly the size of a dump truck. Other boulders that were coming down on roads with the slides were reportedly 18-24 inches in diameter.
Boulder County road and bridge crews have been working with Colorado Department of Transportation officials to clear the rocks and mud from roadways.
Officials said they are concerned the canyon walls where the slides have been happening are unstable and could give way. Deputies have stepped up patrols in the area. They fully expect more slides as the rain continues.
As of 3 p.m. on Thursday some areas in Boulder County had received 4 inches of rain in a 72 hour period.
Cool & Rainy Weather To Move Out Of Colorado
By Thursday afternoon, as much as 5 inches of snow has fallen in the Colorado mountains above 9,000 feet.
"People towing trailers and such may be leaving expecting some nicer weather, and when they get to the mountain passes, they're going to say, 'What's this white stuff?"' said John Kyle of the Weather Service office in Grand Junction in western Colorado.
"It's such a late-season storm," he said.
Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park was closed. Colorado 5, which reaches the summit of 14,264-foot Mount Evans, was closed at Summit Lake, about 1,200 feet below the peak.
Independence Pass to the east of Aspen was opened by the Colorado Department of Transportation for the first time this season Thursday afternoon. CDOT warned that winter driving conditions are to be expected on the pass, which generally only stays open during the summer months.
Thursday was the second straight day of severe weather on Colorado's eastern plains. On Wednesday, at least two tornadoes were reported in Yuma County, about 120 miles northeast of Denver, along with 6 inches of hail and 3 1/2 inches of rain.
Wheat and corn crops were damaged and some basements in the town of Yuma were flooded.
Skies will clear in Denver Thursday night with lows in the mid 40s.
Friday will be sunny and highs will be back in the mid to upper 70s.
Saturday and Sunday are expected to bring more warming with sunny to partly cloudy skies and highs in the 80s with a 10 percent chance of a storm each day.
Next week will begin nicely with partly cloudy skies and highs in the 80s with a slight chance of a storm.
The recent warm weather has meant snowpacks are melting at a rapid rate. Flood warnings, watches and advisories are in effect across western Colorado where rivers are running fast and high. While there are only a few advisories in eastern Colorado, the waters are also running fast this week. (Stay updated on the warnings and watches on a
special section of the Weather section.)
Long Range Forecast For Colorado
A new 30- and 90-day long range forecast for Colorado is released by the Climate Prediction Center each month. Get the
whole story about the latest long range forecast from CBS4's forecasters.
Wildfires
Learn more about how wildfires happen and what can be done to combat them once they do. Several links on
cbs4denver.com's Wildfire Resources section also provide important information if a wildfire is threatening your community.
Living Green
In a weekly feature on cbs4denver.com called Living Green, CBS4 meteorologist Jennifer Zeppelin shares advice on how you can make adjustments to your life that will benefit the environment. Watch
this week's video clip.
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