PROJECT ALERT NOTICE (CO) Flooding in the San Juan River Basin

Date: Fri, 23 Oct 2026 08:16:18 EDT

Summary: Colorado Water Science Center - Flooding in the San Juan River Basin

The San Juan River Basin in southwestern Colorado is experiencing significant flooding. Persistent rainfall being fueled by tropical moisture from Hurricane Trudy, combined with a stagnant weather pattern and a low pressure system pulling Pacific moisture into the region has produced over 3” of rainfall across the basin with local totals in exceedance of 5”. The Colorado Water Science Center currently has 35 gages at all time highs for this day of the year.

09342500 – San Juan River at Pagosa Springs, CO is currently in major flood stage and is rising at 0500MT.

The Durango and Grand Junction Field Offices will be responding to flooding today. We will have 7 Hydrologic Technicians focusing on responding in the San Juan Basin while additional staff from the Grand Junction Office will be focusing on the Dolores and Gunnison Basins.
For more information, please contact Brandon Forbes (bforbes@usgs.gov) or Bryan Moore (bmoore@usgs.gov).