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
South Platte River
was last observed at
888
cfs, and is expected to yield approximately
1,761
acre-ft of water today; about 26%
of normal.
River levels are low and may signify a drought.
Average streamflow for this time of year is
3,442 cfs,
with recent peaks last observed
on
2015-06-16 when daily discharge volume was observed at
90,736 cfs.
Maximum discharge along the river is currently at the
South Platte River Near Kersey
reporting a streamflow rate of 784.00 cfs.
However, the streamgauge with the highest stage along the river is the
South Platte River Below Union Ave
with a gauge stage of 10.89 ft.
This river is monitored from 17 different streamgauging stations along the South Platte River, the highest being situated at an altitude of 8,457 ft, the
South Platte River Near Lake George.
River Details
| Last Updated | 2025-12-19 |
| Discharge Volume | 1,761 ACRE-FT |
| Streamflow |
887.7 cfs
-2099.2 cfs (-70.28%) |
| Percent of Normal | 25.79% |
| Maximum |
90,736.0 cfs
2015-06-16 |
| Seasonal Avg | 3,442 cfs |
River Streamflow Levels
| Streamgauge | Streamflow | Gauge Stage | 24hr Change (%) | % Normal | Minimum (cfs) | Maximum (cfs) | Air Temp | Elevation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
South Platte River Near Lake George
USGS 06696000 |
100 cfs | 1.00 ft | 3.36 | |||||
|
South Platte River Above Cheesman Lake
USGS 06700000 |
143 cfs | 5.15 ft | 0 | |||||
|
South Platte River Below Cheesman Lake
USGS 06701500 |
120 cfs | 1.04 ft | 0 | |||||
|
South Platte River At South Platte
USGS 06707500 |
240 cfs | 2.45 ft | -1.34 | |||||
|
South Platte River At Waterton
USGS 06708000 |
27 cfs | 0.62 ft | 0 | |||||
|
South Platte River Below Union Ave
USGS 06710247 |
23 cfs | 10.89 ft | -7.72 | |||||
|
South Platte River At Englewood
USGS 06711565 |
41 cfs | 1.37 ft | 0 | |||||
|
South Platte River At Denver
USGS 06714000 |
111 cfs | 2.81 ft | -3.82 | |||||
|
South Platte River At Henderson
USGS 06720500 |
262 cfs | 3.59 ft | -20.88 | |||||
|
South Platte River At Fort Lupton
USGS 06721000 |
358 cfs | 3.77 ft | -1.1 | |||||
|
South Platte River Near Kersey
USGS 06754000 |
784 cfs | 3.11 ft | 15.38 | |||||
|
South Platte River At Masters
USGS 06756995 |
127 cfs | 2.48 ft | -58.07 | |||||
|
South Platte River Near Weldona
USGS 06758500 |
297 cfs | 2.05 ft | 29.13 | |||||
|
South Platte River At Fort Morgan
USGS 06759500 |
301 cfs | 9.53 ft | 55.96 | |||||
|
South Platte River At Cooper Bridge
USGS 06759910 |
12 cfs | 1.91 ft | -10.22 | |||||
|
South Platte River Near Crook
USGS 06760500 |
185 cfs | 2.87 ft | 104.31 | |||||
|
South Platte River At Roscoe Nebr
USGS 06764880 |
206 cfs | 3.25 ft | 0 |
Seasonal Discharge Comparison
Maximum Streamflow Discharge
Streamflow Elevation Profile
The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/Mountain West. Its drainage basin includes much of the eastern flank of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado; much of the populated region known as the Colorado Front Range and Eastern Plains; and a portion of southeastern Wyoming in the vicinity of the city of Cheyenne. It joins the North Platte River in western Nebraska to form the Platte, which then flows across Nebraska to the Missouri. The river serves as the principal source of water for eastern Colorado. In its valley along the foothills in Colorado, it has permitted agriculture in an area of the Colorado Piedmont and Great Plains that is otherwise arid.