# Flood Watch Issued for Purgatoire River Near Las Animas, Colorado

> The National Weather Service in Pueblo has issued a Flood Watch for the Purgatoire River, impacting the Las Animas Vicinity and Bent County, Colorado, with potential flooding expected from Monday evening until Wednesday afternoon due to high river flow.

By PrimaryBrief newsroom · Published 2026-10-26T17:56:25.077590Z
Canonical: https://primarybrief.com/article/flood-watch-issued-for-purgatoire-river-near-las-animas-colorado-56e1d5c8

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Pueblo, Colorado, has issued a Flood Watch for the Purgatoire River near Las Animas, affecting the Las Animas Vicinity and Bent County zone [1]. The alert was released on Monday, October 26, 2026, at 11:53 AM MDT [1]. This Flood Watch is in effect from Monday evening, October 26, until Wednesday afternoon, October 28, at 5:00 PM MDT [1].

The NWS stated that high flow is currently moving down the Upper Purgatoire River, a result of recent rainfall [1]. This elevated flow may lead to flooding in areas near Las Animas [1]. As of 11:15 AM MDT on Monday, the river stage on the Purgatoire River near Las Animas was recorded at 2.5 feet [1]. The flood stage for this location is 9.0 feet [1]. Forecasts indicate that the river could reach flood stage late Monday evening [1].

River data from October 24, 2026, showed the Purgatoire River near Las Animas with a gage height of 2.48 feet and a flow of 12 cubic feet per second (cfs) [5]. By October 25, 2026, the gage height was recorded at 2.59 feet [6]. These levels are significantly below the 9.0-foot flood stage [1]. Earlier, on October 20, 2026, no watches, warnings, or advisories were reported for this area [4]. However, a Hazardous Weather Outlook issued by NWS Pueblo on October 24, 2026, mentioned an emphasis on Flood Watch conditions for locations including the Las Animas Vicinity and Bent County [3].

In response to current flood warnings and watches across southwest and south-central Colorado, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has advised motorists to avoid travel [2]. CDOT urged drivers not to travel through flooded areas and to never drive through closure gates or barricades [2].

## Evidence cited
1. NWS Flood Watch: Las Animas Vicinity/Bent County (nws_alerts) — https://api.weather.gov/alerts/urn:oid:2.49.0.1.840.0.2d64bacc1dfbc0fe9608537da9013a58beb7ca52.001.1
2. Colorado Department of Transportation (codot.gov) — https://codot.gov/
3. Hazardous Weather Outlook (weather.gov) — https://www.weather.gov/alerts/hazardous-weather-outlook
4. National Water Model Hydrograph - Purgatoire River Near Las Animas (noaa.gov) — https://water.noaa.gov/gages/LAPC2
5. Purgatoire River Near Las Animas Flow Report (snoflo.org) — https://snoflo.org/river-flow/colorado/purgatoire-river-near-las-animas
6. Purgatoire River Near Las Animas, CO - USGS Water Data for the Nation (usgs.gov) — https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?site_no=07128500