Summit County Citizens Voice

A National Weather Service map shows the extent of a flash flood watch in effect for parts of Colorado. Click on the map for details.

Lightning kills two, injures 11 in the past four days

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — With abundant monsoon moisture over the area, the National Weather Service has expanded a flash flood watch to cover parts of the I-70 corridor just west of Summit County. Heavy thunderstorms could lead to rockslides and mudslides in susceptible areas.

Winds aloft are light, so some of the thunderstorms could remain almost stationary, dumping several inches of rain in just a few hours. Thunderstorm activity is expected peak during the late afternoon and evening hours as daytime heating enhances cloud formation.

Strong storms are also expected over the Front Range and foothills, where a northerly flow could entrain thunderstorms to bring heavy rain over a concentrated area. The National Weather Service may issue a flash flood watch for that area later today.

The last two weeks of July and the first half of August is the wettest period of the year for Summit County, as the typical southwest flow delivers a stream of moisture into the mountains. The wet spell is expected to last at least through the end of the week, with slight drying forecast for the weekend, though the chance for afternoon thunderstorms will continue.

Under cloud cover, temperatures will stay just a tad under seasonal norms, with Summit County highs expected to reach the upper 60s and low 70s the next few days, and lows dropping down to the mid-40s at night. The record high for the date is 85 degrees, set in 1943, and the record low is 27, set in 1913, when Summit County must have seen quite a summer cold snap, with lows dropping below freezing five nights in a row, from July 26 through July 30.

For hot weather, Death Valley climbed up to 119 degrees Tuesday, while the coldest spot in the country was in Bodie State Park, also in California, less than 150 miles from Death Valley.

Be aware of lightning associated with thunderstorms. Since Saturday, lightning has killed two people  and injured 11 others across the country. Both deaths were in the South, but Colorado has one of the highest death rates from lightning in the country.

Filed under: Summit County Colorado, Summit County snow and weather Tagged: | Colorado monsoon, Colorado weather, flash floods Colorado, Summit County News, summit county weather