Logan County, Colorado

A wet microburst contributed to a fatal car accident near Holyoke. The combination of very strong winds and heavy rain caused extremely poor visibilities. The severe thunderstorms wind rolled a semi truck hauling an empty trailer on its side. The trailer came to rest on the center median while the truck ended up in the left eastbound lane. A van following behind then struck the undercarriage of the rolled over semi truck and ran off the road. The driver the of the van was killed. His teenage son and the driver of the truck suffered minor injuries.

Monsoon moisture continued over the area with thunderstorms drenching the Pawnee National Grasslands, north of Stoneham, with 6 to 8 inches of rainfall. Runoff from the storms eventually turned Pawnee Creek into a huge river. The wall of water, 12 feet high and 200 feet wide made its way downstream flooding the towns of Sterling and Atwood in western Logan County. Highway bridges were washed out, trees uprooted and a portion of Burlington Northern track ripped out. In addition, a 100-ton culvert was torn away and carried downstream approximately 50 feet. In Logan County, 1000 homes and 200 businesses were impacted by the floodwaters as scores of families were evacuated. Some homes in the towns of Sterling and Atwood were under 8 feet of water. At least 13,700 acres of cropland was damaged. Damage estimates of at least $12.9 million were reported to property. A breakdown of the damages included: $10.0 million to homes in Sterling alone, $900,000 to businesses, $1.0 million to a junior college, and at least $1.0 million in damage to state roads, highways and bridges.

A tornado touched down in downtown Sterling, causing extensive damage. At least two commercial buildings, including a car dealership, and one college dormitory lost roofs. Several trees were uprooted; one caused major damage to a home when it fell on it. A semi-truck was also knocked on its side. Downed power lines caused scattered electrical outages which affected about 6,000 customers. A total of 150 buildings received some degree of damage. Four families were left homeless and two residents received minor injuries. Some of the damage to property and structures included: $550,000 for damaged vehicles, $500,000 to the county fairgrounds including the stadium and arena, $200,000 to Sterling High School, $70,000 to Northeastern Junior College, and $20,000 to city property. The total economic impact to Sterling which also involved cleanup and repair was estimated to be between $5 million and $7 million.