The National Weather Service issued a small-stream flood advisory until 7 p.m. Monday for northern Durango and a portion of north-central La Plata County.
North Durango received six-tenths of an inch of rain in 20 minutes shortly before 3 p.m. Monday, said Julie Malingowski, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction.
The deluge sent water and debris running across parts of Main Avenue. The storms were expected to continue into the evening, she said.
Heavy precipitation on top of dry, brittle ground can result in flash flooding, Malingowski said. Likewise, over-saturated ground can cause the same effect, she said.
“Either it hasn’t rained in a long time, so it just rolls right off the ground, or if it has been raining for days, and we have the opposite problem, then the ground gets super-saturated and can’t hold the water,” she said. “It’s all about the precipitation rate.”
Forecasters are calling for another chance of thunderstorms Tuesday afternoon. But after that, it is back to hot and dry conditions into at least early next week, she said.
“No strong monsoonal signal at this time, over the next 10 days,” Malingowski said. “Overall, we are not anticipating the monsoon anytime in the next couple of weeks.”
shane@durangoherald.com