Durango/Electra Lake (areas, places, flooding)

[jbear182]

My family and I are going to be spending some time in the Durango area, specifically around Electra Lake. It is my understanding that severe thunderstorms pass through this area most afternoons. Is it so severe that we should just plan on being inside, or if out and about "off" the mountain in the afternoons? In my research I have seen many people say to stay off even the local hwys such as the 550 during these storms. As the well being of my wife and kids are of extreme importance to me, can somebody give me the facts. We also like to hike so if you could address this and the storms (I realize lighting can be a huge issue at this elevation) as well it would be greatly appreciated.

later B's!

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by jbear182

My family and I are going to be spending some time in the Durango area, specifically around Electra Lake. It is my understanding that severe thunderstorms pass through this area most afternoons. Is it so severe that we should just plan on being inside, or if out and about "off" the mountain in the afternoons? In my research I have seen many people say to stay off even the local hwys such as the 550 during these storms. As the well being of my wife and kids are of extreme importance to me, can somebody give me the facts. We also like to hike so if you could address this and the storms (I realize lighting can be a huge issue at this elevation) as well it would be greatly appreciated.

later B's!

Was it you who asked the identical question last year? If so, the answer will be the same. If it wasn't you, here is the answer. In a normal year--and this year has been anything but that, so far--thunderstorms occur nearly every afternoon from early to mid-July to late August in the San Juan mountains. While the storms themselves are not usually severe in the Midwest or Plains sense, they can throw out a lot of lightning--and they can do that even when the storms are small and put down limited precipitation. Any areas above around 6,000 feet can regularly be affected by these storms (and below that, too, on many days), but the higher the altitude, the more capricious the storms can be.

"Off the mountain by noon" is a common admonition to hikers in summertime. The storms can "blow up" very quickly in the afternoon. I've seen a nearly clear sky at noon with large areas of thunderstorm coverage by 2 or 3 PM. My common rule of thumb is that if there are ANY cumulus clouds in the sky by around 8 AM, there is probably sufficient moisture and atmospheric instability to lead to mountain thunderstorms to develop somewhere by mid-to late afternoon. Depending on temperature, atmospheric instability, and wind currents, storms that develop may be totally dissipated by 5 PM, or storms can continue to occur and develop into the evening. If the atmosphere is especially "juicy" and unstable, they may persist into the evening or night. The biggest danger for severe flash flooding occurs when especially moist and strong storms are held nearly stationary by wind currents. That happens infrequently, but can cause big problems when it does happen.

Heavy rains in short time periods can cause flash flooding. Also, a constant danger during San Juan rainstorms are rockslides on roads. The slopes in the San Juans are quite steep and it doesn't take much to dislodge rocks. For those of us who regularly travel those roads, we have learned to keep an eye "up the hillside" as well as on the road during and after rainstorms. I've seen countless rockslides and driven around rocks on the roads in the San Juans so many times in four decades of driving those roads that I lost count years ago.

Ironically, this year we may be praying for the Southwest Monsoon by August. While high water has been an issue in many areas of Colorado with the snowmelt, areas below around 8,000 feet are drying out very rapidly in many places in the southern third of the state--and severe fire danger may the big issue by mid to late summer, especially if the Southwest Monsoon is late or weak. In a normal year, June is one of the driest months in the San Juans, so conditions ripe for fire may be a problem by July or so in the lower and mid-elevations.

[jbear182]

Thanks for the response Jazzlover. We will take your information seriously.