Wet weather socked in the Front Range on Thursday, causing some urban flooding and traffic problems in Colorado Springs and elsewhere.
Fountain Creek, south of Colorado Springs, ran over its banks Thursday afternoon, flooding into mostly agricultural areas and not causing major problems, said Larry Walrod, a senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pueblo.
The Weather Service issued a flash-flood watch for the Interstate 25 corridor Thursday north of Colorado Springs and south to the New Mexico state line, including Pueblo and Trinidad.
There was minor urban flooding Thursday afternoon in Colorado Springs and water washed over some streets, including the intersection of Siferd Boulevard and Date Street, forcing temporary closures.
In cities there’s “lots of asphalt and no place for the water to go when it comes down so quick,” Walrod said.
Some areas in and around Colorado Springs received up to 3 inches of rain Thursday, but that was over about a four-hour period, not in a torrential downpour.
Much of the moisture soaking the Front Range was associated with former Tropical Storm Simon, which moved into the southwestern U.S. earlier this week from the Pacific Ocean off Mexico.
Weather forecasters in Colorado have been concerned about wildland fire scars, including the , but those areas held up through the day Thursday.
Waldo Canyon, northwest of Colorado Springs, received about 1½ inches of rain throughout the day Thursday, the Weather Service reported.
“It was over a long period of time, and the scar was able to handle it,” Walrod said.
Rain is expected to continue Friday in widespread areas of Colorado, with snow in the mountains. Snow fell on high mountain peaks, above 10,000 feet, in the central mountains Thursday, including some areas that saw up to 3 inches of accumulation.
The Weather Service forecast called for snow to continue overnight, with up to 14 inches possible in the Sangre de Cristos and on Pikes Peak by noon Friday.
