Pick a street, any street — in almost any location in the Denver area — and chances are it was flooded as massive amounts of rain fell Thursday evening throughout the region.
In downtown Denver, parked cars had standing water rising midway up their wheels.
That seemed lucky in comparison to the vehicles trying to navigate roadways where the rising waters threatened to engulf them beneath waves that seemed more at home along a California beach.
Denver Fire reported that between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m., firefighters rescued five people who were stranded in flooded cars. A spokeswoman said no one was injured in the incidents, adding that drivers should not motor into standing water because of the risk of their vehicles stalling.
In Glendale, police closed two lanes of northbound Colorado Boulevard at Exposition Avenue because of street flooding. In Elbert County, officials said 3 inches of rain fell in less than hour, causing heavy runoff of water and damage to area roads.
The National Weather Service in Boulder said 2.22 inches of rain fell in 30 minutes 8.7 miles northeast of Elizabeth, and 1.35 inches in an hour 9 miles east of Parker.
While flash flood warnings were the order of the day in many areas, “The funny thing is, there are some areas that have barely seen rain,” said meteorologist Dave Barjenbruch of the weather service. “But the other areas have just absolutely been dumped on.”
Parts of southeast Aurora saw almost 3 inches of rain Thursday afternoon and evening, while parts of Denver, including the Cherry Creek area, approached 2 inches.
At one point, the weather service tweeted that many creeks and streams, including the South Platte and Cherry Creek, were running high and fast.
A flood warning was issued for the South Platte in Denver until 5 a.m. Friday. Warnings in parts of Aurora lasted until 3 a.m.
West Metro Fire Rescue reported that Clear Creek was running at 200 percent of average, Bear Creek at 300 percent and the South Platte River in Waterton Canyon at 400 percent of average.
The Army Corps of Engineers on Thursday said it was reducing the release of water from Chatfield and Bear Creek dams to mitigate the risk of flooding.
While Denver International Airport was mostly dry, officials said the conditions caused delays Thursday that averaged about two hours. In addition, almost 20 flights were diverted to locations as close as Colorado Springs and as far away as Amarillo, Texas.
Barjenbruch said the forecast for Thursday night into Friday morning called for “widespread rain over the entire city,” a situation that could exacerbate the threat of running water.
Meanwhile, heavy rain also pounded Colorado Springs. Firefighters there reported on Twitter that they had successfully rescued two women from floodwaters Thursday evening.
The department said that the women were rescued from a flooded spot on Tia Juana Street and East Platte Avenue, on the east side of the city.
Photos posted by the department showed a woman sitting on the hood of a car, which has water up over the hood, and a ladder extended out to reach her.
In the southeastern corner of the state, a different problem was reported, as a series of tornado warnings were issued for Baca County and the town of Springfield.
There were no early reports of damage.
