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Bear Creek (CO) at Morrison

Highest listed crest 11.50 ftFlood stage 9.0 ft88 crests since 1933

The Bear Creek (CO) at Morrison crested at major flood stage 2 times among the 88 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1933 to 2021. The highest, 11.50 ft on July 7, 1933, was major flooding, 2.50 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
11.50 ft
July 7, 1933; 8,110 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
9.0 ft
Major flooding from 10.5 ft
Crests at major
2
1st of 100 gauges in Colorado
Most recent flood crest
September 13, 2013
9.05 ft, minor flooding
Location
Jefferson County
Near Lakewood (5.2 mi), Golden (6.2 mi), Wheat Ridge (9.6 mi)
Identifiers
NWS MRRC2
No USGS station

Flood stages

The thresholds the National Weather Service uses for this gauge today, and how many listed crests reached each.

Flood categories, Bear Creek (CO) at Morrison
Action stage8.09May 6, 1973The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)9.03Sep 13, 2013Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage10.00—Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage10.52Sep 2, 1938Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

88 crests from 1933 to 2021. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Bear Creek (CO) at Morrison, 1933 to 2021 681012ft Flood stage 9.0 ftMajor 10.5 ft Jul 7, 1933: 11.50 ft, major flooding; 8,110 cubic feet per secondAug 9, 1934: 9.85 ft, minor flooding; 4,620 cubic feet per secondJul 12, 1935: 8.00 ft, action stage; 1,060 cubic feet per secondAug 12, 1936: 7.75 ft, below flood stage; 745 cubic feet per secondAug 30, 1937: 7.35 ft, below flood stage; 392 cubic feet per secondSep 2, 1938: 10.60 ft, major flooding; 6,200 cubic feet per secondAug 25, 1940: 7.60 ft, below flood stage; 615 cubic feet per secondJun 21, 1941: 8.80 ft, action stage; 2,500 cubic feet per secondApr 19, 1942: 8.50 ft, action stage; 1,850 cubic feet per secondJun 30, 1943: 7.10 ft, below flood stage; 244 cubic feet per secondMay 15, 1944: 7.50 ft, below flood stage; 542 cubic feet per secondAug 20, 1945: 7.30 ft, below flood stage; 375 cubic feet per secondAug 24, 1946: 6.80 ft, below flood stage; 152 cubic feet per secondJun 22, 1947: 7.30 ft, below flood stage; 386 cubic feet per secondApr 30, 1948: 7.30 ft, below flood stage; 398 cubic feet per secondJun 6, 1949: 8.20 ft, action stage; 1,250 cubic feet per secondJun 16, 1950: 7.10 ft, below flood stage; 264 cubic feet per secondAug 3, 1951: 7.05 ft, below flood stage; 238 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 1952: 7.45 ft, below flood stage; 455 cubic feet per secondJul 31, 1953: 7.40 ft, below flood stage; 444 cubic feet per secondJul 21, 1954: 7.40 ft, below flood stage; 445 cubic feet per secondAug 10, 1955: 8.50 ft, action stage; 1,700 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 1956: 7.30 ft, below flood stage; 348 cubic feet per secondAug 21, 1957: 8.40 ft, action stage; 1,640 cubic feet per secondMay 16, 1958: 7.40 ft, below flood stage; 421 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 1959: 6.80 ft, below flood stage; 147 cubic feet per secondMay 9, 1960: 7.00 ft, below flood stage; 208 cubic feet per secondAug 3, 1961: 7.10 ft, below flood stage; 252 cubic feet per secondMay 7, 1962: 6.80 ft, below flood stage; 152 cubic feet per secondJun 16, 1963: 7.00 ft, below flood stage; 200 cubic feet per secondAug 7, 1964: 7.15 ft, below flood stage; 286 cubic feet per secondJul 25, 1965: 8.00 ft, action stage; 1,030 cubic feet per secondAug 4, 1966: 6.50 ft, below flood stage; 82 cubic feet per secondJul 18, 1967: 6.80 ft, below flood stage; 155 cubic feet per secondJun 2, 1968: 6.70 ft, below flood stage; 131 cubic feet per secondMay 7, 1969: 8.70 ft, action stage; 2,340 cubic feet per secondAug 5, 1970: 7.60 ft, below flood stage; 608 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 1971: 6.90 ft, below flood stage; 174 cubic feet per secondAug 3, 1972: 7.00 ft, below flood stage; 227 cubic feet per secondMay 6, 1973: 8.30 ft, action stage; 1,480 cubic feet per secondMay 10, 1974: 6.90 ft, below flood stage; 171 cubic feet per secondJun 14, 1975: 7.10 ft, below flood stage; 250 cubic feet per secondAug 3, 1976: 6.80 ft, below flood stage; 139 cubic feet per secondMay 1, 1977: 6.80 ft, below flood stage; 136 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 1978: 6.70 ft, below flood stage; 107 cubic feet per secondJun 9, 1979: 7.50 ft, below flood stage; 530 cubic feet per secondApr 30, 1980: 7.75 ft, below flood stage; 726 cubic feet per secondJul 18, 1981: 7.00 ft, below flood stage; 235 cubic feet per secondAug 14, 1982: 7.00 ft, below flood stage; 193 cubic feet per secondJul 22, 1983: 9.70 ft, minor flooding; 4,140 cubic feet per secondAug 26, 1984: 7.60 ft, below flood stage; 576 cubic feet per secondJul 19, 1985: 7.20 ft, below flood stage; 317 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 1986: 7.10 ft, below flood stage; 260 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 1987: 7.40 ft, below flood stage; 435 cubic feet per secondMay 19, 1988: 7.10 ft, below flood stage; 253 cubic feet per secondJul 30, 1989: 6.70 ft, below flood stage; 110 cubic feet per secondJul 8, 1990: 7.30 ft, below flood stage; 377 cubic feet per secondJun 1, 1991: 7.20 ft, below flood stage; 298 cubic feet per secondAug 24, 1992: 6.90 ft, below flood stage; 171 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 1993: 6.80 ft, below flood stage; 136 cubic feet per secondMay 10, 1994: 6.70 ft, below flood stage; 127 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 1995: 7.90 ft, below flood stage; 894 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 1996: 6.90 ft, below flood stage; 166 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 1997: 7.50 ft, below flood stage; 485 cubic feet per secondMay 7, 1998: 7.85 ft, below flood stage; 833 cubic feet per secondMay 25, 1999: 7.90 ft, below flood stage; 911 cubic feet per secondJul 17, 2000: 6.70 ft, below flood stage; 122 cubic feet per secondJul 13, 2001: 6.90 ft, below flood stage; 174 cubic feet per secondSep 13, 2002: 6.22 ft, below flood stage; 50 cubic feet per secondApr 15, 2003: 7.24 ft, below flood stage; 312 cubic feet per secondAug 5, 2004: 6.96 ft, below flood stage; 207 cubic feet per secondMay 11, 2005: 7.18 ft, below flood stage; 288 cubic feet per secondJul 9, 2006: 7.10 ft, below flood stage; 232 cubic feet per secondJul 12, 2007: 7.70 ft, below flood stage; 694 cubic feet per secondJun 5, 2008: 6.78 ft, below flood stage; 131 cubic feet per secondJun 2, 2009: 6.86 ft, below flood stage; 153 cubic feet per secondJun 12, 2010: 7.00 ft, below flood stage; 201 cubic feet per secondJun 20, 2011: 6.86 ft, below flood stage; 153 cubic feet per secondJul 8, 2012: 6.52 ft, below flood stage; 75 cubic feet per secondSep 13, 2013: 9.05 ft, minor flooding; 3,240 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 2014: 7.00 ft, below flood stage; 201 cubic feet per secondMay 10, 2015: 7.99 ft, below flood stage; 1,178 cubic feet per secondMay 7, 2016: 7.19 ft, below flood stage; 233 cubic feet per secondJul 26, 2017: 6.79 ft, below flood stage; 114 cubic feet per secondMay 3, 2018: 6.57 ft, below flood stage; 75 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 2019: 6.88 ft, below flood stage; 138 cubic feet per secondMay 4, 2020: 6.45 ft, below flood stage; 60 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 2021: 7.32 ft, below flood stage; 289 cubic feet per second Highest, 11.50 ft, Jul 7, 1933 19401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Bear Creek (CO) at Morrison 1930s: 3 3 1940s: 0 1950s: 0 1960s: 0 1970s: 0 1980s: 1 1990s: 0 2000s: 0 2010s: 1 2020s: 0 1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  1. These are the crests the local National Weather Service office lists for the gauge: the highest on record and recent crests. Lesser floods between them may be missing, so counts by decade are a floor.
  2. Categories use today's flood stages. Levees, dams and channel changes since a crest can make old and new stages not directly comparable.

Highest crests

The 50 highest of 88 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Bear Creek (CO) at Morrison
1Jul 7, 193311.50+2.50Major8,110
2Sep 2, 193810.60+1.60Major6,200
3Aug 9, 19349.85+0.85Minor4,620
4Jul 22, 19839.70+0.70Minor4,140
5Sep 13, 20139.05+0.05Minor3,240
6Jun 21, 19418.80−0.20Action2,500
7May 7, 19698.70−0.30Action2,340
8Apr 19, 19428.50−0.50Action1,850
9Aug 10, 19558.50−0.50Action1,700
10Aug 21, 19578.40−0.60Action1,640
11May 6, 19738.30−0.70Action1,480
12Jun 6, 19498.20−0.80Action1,250
13Jul 12, 19358.00−1.00Action1,060
14Jul 25, 19658.00−1.00Action1,030
15May 10, 20157.99−1.01Below flood stage1,178
16Jun 18, 19957.90−1.10Below flood stage894
17May 25, 19997.90−1.10Below flood stage911
18May 7, 19987.85−1.15Below flood stage833
19Aug 12, 19367.75−1.25Below flood stage745
20Apr 30, 19807.75−1.25Below flood stage726
21Jul 12, 20077.70−1.30Below flood stage694
22Aug 25, 19407.60−1.40Below flood stage615
23Aug 5, 19707.60−1.40Below flood stage608
24Aug 26, 19847.60−1.40Below flood stage576
25May 15, 19447.50−1.50Below flood stage542
26Jun 9, 19797.50−1.50Below flood stage530
27Jun 13, 19977.50−1.50Below flood stage485
28May 23, 19527.45−1.55Below flood stage455
29Jul 31, 19537.40−1.60Below flood stage444
30Jul 21, 19547.40−1.60Below flood stage445
31May 16, 19587.40−1.60Below flood stage421
32Jun 10, 19877.40−1.60Below flood stage435
33Aug 30, 19377.35−1.65Below flood stage392
34May 23, 20217.32−1.68Below flood stage289
35Aug 20, 19457.30−1.70Below flood stage375
36Jun 22, 19477.30−1.70Below flood stage386
37Apr 30, 19487.30−1.70Below flood stage398
38May 23, 19567.30−1.70Below flood stage348
39Jul 8, 19907.30−1.70Below flood stage377
40Apr 15, 20037.24−1.76Below flood stage312
41Jul 19, 19857.20−1.80Below flood stage317
42Jun 1, 19917.20−1.80Below flood stage298
43May 7, 20167.19−1.81Below flood stage233
44May 11, 20057.18−1.82Below flood stage288
45Aug 7, 19647.15−1.85Below flood stage286
46Jun 30, 19437.10−1.90Below flood stage244
47Jun 16, 19507.10−1.90Below flood stage264
48Aug 3, 19617.10−1.90Below flood stage252
49Jun 14, 19757.10−1.90Below flood stage250
50Jun 10, 19867.10−1.90Below flood stage260

Gauges on the Bear Creek (CO)

Flood gauges sharing the river's name, linked within 80 miles of one another.

Flood gauges on the Bear Creek (CO)
EvergreenCO5.37.10 ft, Aug 24, 19920
Morrison this gaugeCO9.011.50 ft, Jul 7, 19332
SheridanCO8.010.50 ft, May 7, 19691

Other gauges in Jefferson County

Flood gauges in Jefferson County
Evergreen5.37.10 ft, Aug 24, 19920
Plainview5.07.17 ft, Sep 13, 20131
South Platte7.011.20 ft, Jul 12, 19961
Cheesman Reservoir7.013.40 ft, Apr 29, 19701
Golden3.53.60 ft, May 18, 19950

Jefferson County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Colorado

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge MRRC2, retrieved October 30, 2026. Stages in feet on the gauge's own datum, not elevation. Crests are as the National Weather Service lists them; preliminary values may be revised.