Colorado Flood 2013

Even though we have stayed safe and dry during the historic weather event that has happened in Colorado this week, I wanted to journal some of my thoughts and pictures from our area. A friend shared this humorous quote on facebook that she saw on Twitter and I couldn't help but laugh,  in some ways, it is so true!

Mon: Rain! Hooray!
Tues: Oh hey there rain.
Wed: Rain. Ok.
Thurs: Whoa there rain.
Thurs Night: RAIN WTF AAAAAH!

At first, everyone was excited to see the moisture, which is a very typical response in our very dry state. Since arriving home mid-August, we only saw a few brief afternoon showers. Rain for days on end is NOT a normal thing where we live. Over the course of this week, some areas have received the same amount of moisture generally received in an entire year.

Mark took the kids out to the park near our house on Wednesday and they had a blast splashing around in the mud.

We heard the emergency alerts for Boulder on the radio Wednesday night, but thought the threat would soon pass, since most flash flood warnings don't usually last long here. Mark took these pictures around town on Thursday morning.

Glade Road Park looking at the Hwy 34 bridge

Fairgrounds Park in Loveland

The mood changed midday on Thursday, and school was cancelled at 11:00 due to high water on the Big Thompson River through Loveland and the need to release water from a dam upstream in Estes Park. Students and teachers were elated to be released and have the afternoon off, but I didn't expect the rain to continue and thought we would probably still have school on Friday. This photo was posted at around 10:40 on Thursday morning:

I took a nap Thursday afternoon, and when I work up, I got word that school would be cancelled Friday, too. I've been keeping in touch with my sister Carrie often, since she lives in Boulder and has a creek close to her house.

Bear Creek, Boulder

Several of my dear friends live close to other creeks, and have sent pictures of the water close to their homes. Luckily, their homes have not been threatened yet.

Coal Creek, Lafayette

Buckhorn Creek, Masonville

And on Friday morning, as am writing this and watching the news, I-25 has been closed in both directions by Loveland. That means the closest point for us to cross the Big Thompson River is about 30 miles East of here in Greeley.

On Wednesday night, Highway 34 was closed at the Dam Store at the mouth of Big Thompson Canyon, then closures extended to Glade Road, and now the highway is closed at Devil's Backbone. South Glade Road is closed, so we can't get to my mom from Loveland. There is a chance that we could get to her from Fort Collins, but thankfully, she is high and dry and there should be no need to get out there.

We are safe and dry. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone who has been impacted by the flooding, and also with those who are out helping others to safety and keeping the utilities running. If you are north of the Big Thompson River and you need anything, please let us know.