2025-12-20T00:00:00-07:00
...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION FOR IN AND IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO THE FOOTHILLS, BETWEEN 5500 AND 9000 FEET, FOR BOULDER AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES ON FRIDAY... Strong west winds of 30-40 mph with gusts as high as 85 mph in the foothills of Boulder and northern Jefferson Counties will continue until early evening. Relative humidity values had dropped into the upper single digits and lower teens. Thus, the Particularly Dangerous Situation will remain in place til around 5-6 pm, with only a slow improvement thereafter as winds slowly weaken. Red Flag conditions, however, will persist through the rest of the evening as we remain in a near record warm, dry, and windy airmass along the Front Range through midnight. In fact, strong, gusty winds will persist through much of the night with only a slow improvement in humidity values. Thus, near critical Red Flag conditions will occur into early Saturday morning. While most of the Denver metro area has seen lighter winds prevail most of the day, a period of strong, gusty winds is expected to develop this evening and likely last past midnight, producing Red Flag conditions there. * AFFECTED AREA...Fire Weather Zones 238, 240, 241, 242 and 243. * TIMING...Until midnight MST tonight. * WINDS...West 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 50 mph. * RELATIVE HUMIDITY...As low as 9 percent. * IMPACTS...Conditions will be favorable for rapid fire spread. Avoid outdoor burning and any activity that may produce a spark and start a wildfire.
Summary
Total streamflow across the
Animas River
was last observed at
1,424
cfs, and is expected to yield approximately
2,824
acre-ft of water today; about 169%
of normal.
River levels are high.
Average streamflow for this time of year is
840 cfs,
with recent peaks last observed
on
2019-06-10 when daily discharge volume was observed at
40,738 cfs.
Maximum discharge along the river is currently at the
Animas River At Farmington
reporting a streamflow rate of 282 cfs.
However, the streamgauge with the highest stage along the river is the
Animas River Below Aztec
with a gauge stage of 5.81 ft.
This river is monitored from 9 different streamgauging stations along the Animas River, the highest being situated at an altitude of 9,629 ft, the
Animas River At Howardsville.
River Details
| Last Updated | 2025-12-19 |
| Discharge Volume | 2,824 ACRE-FT |
| Streamflow |
1,424.0 cfs
-40.8 cfs (-2.79%) |
| Percent of Normal | 169.47% |
| Maximum |
40,738.0 cfs
2019-06-10 |
| Seasonal Avg | 840 cfs |
River Streamflow Levels
| Streamgauge | Streamflow | Gauge Stage | 24hr Change (%) | % Normal | Minimum (cfs) | Maximum (cfs) | Air Temp | Elevation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Animas River At Howardsville
USGS 09357500 |
22 cfs | 0.70 ft | 0 | |||||
|
Animas River At Silverton
USGS 09358000 |
27 cfs | 0.01 ft | -44.38 | |||||
|
Animas River Below Silverton
USGS 09359020 |
69 cfs | 2.28 ft | -7.48 | |||||
|
Animas River Above Tacoma
USGS 09359500 |
141 cfs | 2.69 ft | -11.88 | |||||
|
Animas River At Durango
USGS 09361500 |
213 cfs | 2.31 ft | 0 | |||||
|
Animas River Blw Durango Pump Plant Nr Durango
USGS 09362520 |
241 cfs | 3.2 ft | 0 | |||||
|
Animas River Near Cedar Hill
USGS 09363500 |
266 cfs | 4.18 ft | 0 | |||||
|
Animas River Below Aztec
USGS 09364010 |
281 cfs | 5.81 ft | 0 | |||||
|
Animas River At Farmington
USGS 09364500 |
282 cfs | 4.47 ft | 0 |
Seasonal Discharge Comparison
Maximum Streamflow Discharge
Streamflow Elevation Profile
Animas River (On-e-mas) (Río de las Ánimas, in Spanish) is a 126-mile-long (203 km) river in the western United States, a tributary of the San Juan River, part of the Colorado River System.
The Animas-La Plata Water Project was completed in 2015. The project pumps water over a low pass to fill a reservoir, Lake Nighthorse, in Ridges Basin to satisfy Southern Ute tribal water rights claims associated with the Colorado Ute Settlement Act amendments of 2000.
Mineral Creek
Animas River