Occasionally, we catch up with our colleagues at the Fort Collins Coloradoan about the stories they're following. This time, Executive Editor Eric Larsen joined us to discuss the massive thunderstorm that hit Larimer County this week.
The storm on Monday flooded homes and closed roads in Fort Collins and the surrounding area.
“There were up to and in excess of four inches that fell in some of the hardest-hit areas in just a span of, really, about a little bit more than an hour,” Larsen told KUNC.
The storm also affected some local businesses and city infrastructure with hail and heavy rains.
“The Blue Agave Grill told us they had diners in there and they shuffled them out through the back of the house as water came in,” Larsen said. “Sonny Lubick’s Steak House, which is a popular spot in Old Town, had the same issue there.”
Fortunately, Larsen said, these businesses have been through experiences like this before. The day this week’s storm hit, July 31, was also the anniversary of the 1976 Big Thompson Flood – the deadliest natural disaster in Colorado history.
“A massive storm hit between Estes Park and Loveland. That storm sent just a wall of water down the Big Thompson Canyon, killing 144 people. And to this day, five more are still missing.”
The Coloradoan also spoke with State Climatologist Russ Schumacher, who said Monday made this July the wettest in Fort Collins since 1997, when 6.71 inches of rain was recorded at the Fort Collins weather station for the month. That total included a late-month deluge that caused extensive flood damage at CSU.
The official Fort Collins weather station at Colorado State University measured 3.83 inches of rain from the storm on Monday, pushing the July 2023 rainfall total to 4.06 inches.
