CC-1 Colorado Floods

In a recent article entitled "Colorado Floods Triggered By Convergence of Geography and Climate, Experts Say," written by John Roach from NBC News, educates readers of a flood that has been threatening Colorado.

After days of rain, Colorado was left with large floods in which the surrounding terrain was not helping. John Roach stated in his article that the water "gushed over and down the Rocky Mountains" which "resulted from a fateful confluence of geography and weather." What he is saying is that the rain is running off the mountains and rushing into the rivers. However, the rivers can not keep up with the flow of the rain. So, as the rivers continue to rise, the water is overflowing into nearby towns and cities.

Since September 12, there has been more than 17 inches of rain that has poured down in the area. Roach added " the soaking, described as 'biblical' by the National Weather Service, left at least eight people dead." The floods have swept people and cars away with the current and some have drowned. There are still hundreds of people missing, which could cause the death toll to rise. Rescue workers have been working frantically to find and help people.

There are many factors that caused the flooding, but one of them is the air flow. John stated in his article that there was a "fetch of tropical moisture drawn north from Mexico by a weak, but large, upper-level low-pressure system" and pushed "into the Rocky Mountains by a persistent southeasterly airflow." As the system moved across the Rocky Mountains, the conditions for storms were just right. The tropical moisture produced an intense amount of rain that flooded the area very quickly.

I can remember having floods in our area, however, they did not compare to what is happening in Colorado. The floods I have seen were not very threatening and did not cause millions of dollars in property damage.

Colorado has cleaning up to do as they were harshly hit by storms that have left a massive flood. The warm air moving through the Rocky Mountains creating torrential downfalls in which the river could not keep up with, leaving towns flooded.