States › Colorado

Colorado

The recorded hazard history of every county in Colorado: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, and National Flood Insurance Program claims since 1978.

Colorado has 51,187 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950 across 64 counties, led by hail: 49.4 per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally.

NCEI attributes 322 deaths and 1,930 injuries to those events, with property damage estimated at $11B. By events per 100 square miles the leading counties are Denver, Broomfield and El Paso.

FEMA lists 112 disaster declarations touching the state since 1953, most recently Wildfires, Flooding, And Mudslides (1 Sep 2026). NFIP policyholders filed 5,802 flood claims since 1978, $92M paid; 11,282 residential policies are in force.

1,519events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

51,187events since 195049.4 per 100 sq mi (US 56.0)

112disaster declarations since 1953last 1 Sep 2026

5,802NFIP flood claims$92M paid

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. Storm records through 30 Jun 2026; declarations refreshed 29 Sep 2026; claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Compared with the United States

Measure	Colorado	US
Recorded events since 1950	51,187	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	49.4	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	88.1	59.6
Deaths recorded by NCEI	322	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$11B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	1.0	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$25K	$43K
Residential flood policies in force	11,282	3,139,862

Hazard mix

Hail15,490

Winter15,010

Wind8,940

Drought3,044

Tornado2,445

Flood1,956

Other1,666

Cold1,068

Wildfire668

Lightning475

Fog410

Heat15

Hazard	Events	Share of US	Deaths
■ Hail	15,490	3.7%	—
■ Winter	15,010	5.2%	37
■ Wind	8,940	1.3%	27
■ Drought	3,044	3.6%	—
■ Tornado	2,445	3.0%	5
■ Flood	1,956	1.1%	47
■ Other	1,666	3.6%	131
■ Cold	1,068	2.0%	5
■ Wildfire	668	7.0%	15
■ Lightning	475	2.6%	50
■ Fog	410	2.2%	4
■ Heat	15	0.0%	1

Events by decade

Hail: 96Tornado: 111Wind: 41

Hail: 197Tornado: 137Wind: 100

Hail: 318Tornado: 204Wind: 188

Hail: 903Tornado: 340Wind: 317

Hail: 2403Tornado: 525Flood: 278Wind: 1148Winter: 1942Cold: 112Wildfire: 15Lightning: 149Fog: 17Other: 111

Hail: 4480Tornado: 443Flood: 538Wind: 2008Winter: 4709Heat: 4Cold: 203Drought: 1426Wildfire: 229Lightning: 232Fog: 65Other: 420

Hail: 4388Tornado: 420Flood: 705Wind: 2209Winter: 5122Heat: 1Cold: 244Drought: 932Wildfire: 205Lightning: 87Fog: 200Other: 427

Hail: 2705Tornado: 265Flood: 435Wind: 2929Winter: 3237Heat: 10Cold: 509Drought: 686Wildfire: 219Lightning: 7Fog: 128Other: 708

2481950s4341960s7101970s1,5601980s6,7001990s14,7572000s14,9402010s11,8382020s

Recorded events in Colorado by decade and hazard group, including events recorded by forecast zone. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterHeatColdDroughtWildfireLightningFogOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Counties by events per 100 square miles

County	Events	Last 12 mo	Per 100 sq mi	Per 10k residents	Dominant	Tornadoes	Hail	Declarations	NFIP claims	NRI risk
Denver County	549	21	358.6	7.7	Hail	19	350	11	243	Relatively High
Broomfield County	48	0	145.6	6.4	Hail	0	37	6	20	Very Low
El Paso County	2,710	39	127.4	36.7	Hail	97	1,911	20	857	Relatively Moderate
Arapahoe County	927	23	116.2	14.2	Hail	100	601	12	207	Relatively Moderate
Jefferson County	682	35	89.2	11.8	Hail	13	528	15	491	Relatively High
Kit Carson County	1,688	88	78.1	2,428.8	Hail	119	873	7	0	Very Low
Yuma County	1,840	92	77.8	1,850.9	Hail	105	1,046	7	5	Very Low
Phillips County	532	25	77.3	1,179.1	Hail	51	224	6	2	Very Low
Morgan County	974	51	76.1	335.8	Hail	95	508	12	42	Relatively Low
Douglas County	632	16	75.2	17.1	Hail	64	435	13	70	Relatively Moderate
Adams County	875	18	75.0	16.8	Hail	192	502	12	154	Relatively Moderate
Sedgwick County	403	11	73.5	1,725.2	Hail	43	182	9	0	Very Low
Boulder County	513	9	70.6	15.6	Hail	11	356	19	1,784	Relatively Moderate
Cheyenne County	1,136	41	63.9	6,655.0	Hail	94	492	9	0	Very Low
Logan County	1,035	59	56.3	481.7	Hail	105	540	12	74	Relatively Low
Washington County	1,297	82	51.5	2,668.2	Hail	213	678	13	0	Very Low
Weld County	1,912	49	48.0	56.2	Hail	293	1,176	16	194	Relatively Moderate
Elbert County	820	38	44.3	302.3	Hail	127	571	13	2	Very Low
Prowers County	688	4	42.0	573.5	Hail	88	366	9	25	Relatively Low
Pueblo County	954	11	40.0	56.2	Hail	20	549	20	100	Relatively Moderate
Larimer County	919	5	35.4	25.3	Hail	33	620	30	547	Relatively Moderate
Otero County	445	0	35.3	239.3	Hail	30	219	9	139	Relatively Low
Lincoln County	878	68	34.1	1,543.6	Hail	115	579	10	7	Very Low
Kiowa County	521	1	29.5	3,588.2	Hail	92	323	11	0	Very Low
Teller County	163	1	29.3	65.4	Hail	13	110	13	10	Very Low
Crowley County	219	1	27.8	364.3	Hail	17	107	12	1	Very Low
Baca County	621	5	24.3	1,767.2	Hail	84	399	11	0	Very Low
Bent County	355	5	23.5	616.4	Hail	50	170	9	0	Very Low
Custer County	164	3	22.2	325.1	Hail	9	92	14	1	Very Low
La Plata County	257	3	15.2	45.7	Other	5	40	10	67	Relatively Low
Mesa County	472	8	14.2	30.0	Wind	10	62	8	61	Relatively Low
Fremont County	203	2	13.2	40.9	Hail	9	101	15	72	Relatively Low
Gilpin County	19	1	12.7	32.4	Hail	0	16	8	4	Very Low
Huerfano County	193	2	12.1	278.9	Hail	8	92	10	5	Very Low
Ouray County	53	0	9.8	105.3	Other	0	3	10	6	Very Low
Las Animas County	437	12	9.2	298.6	Hail	38	317	13	4	Very Low
Clear Creek County	36	1	9.1	38.1	Hail	2	18	9	29	Relatively Low
Pitkin County	79	5	8.1	45.5	Other	1	5	6	31	Relatively Low
Garfield County	229	5	7.8	36.8	Other	0	20	12	30	Relatively Low
San Miguel County	97	2	7.5	120.1	Other	0	6	9	18	Very Low
Alamosa County	51	1	7.1	30.8	Tornado	17	14	7	18	Very Low
Montezuma County	140	1	6.9	53.5	Other	3	24	8	20	Relatively Low
Delta County	71	0	6.2	22.4	Wind	3	7	9	19	Relatively Low
Eagle County	104	0	6.2	18.7	Wind	2	2	9	35	Relatively Low
Montrose County	130	0	5.8	30.1	Flood	3	14	9	6	Relatively Low
Archuleta County	74	5	5.5	53.7	Other	1	6	8	10	Very Low
Rio Blanco County	174	18	5.4	268.7	Other	3	11	7	9	Very Low
Chaffee County	48	0	4.7	23.9	Flood	1	10	5	7	Relatively Low
San Juan County	18	1	4.6	245.6	Other	0	0	6	1	Very Low
Routt County	103	0	4.4	41.1	Wind	3	19	6	36	Very Low
Rio Grande County	35	0	3.8	30.7	Hail	2	21	9	11	Relatively Low
Park County	74	4	3.4	41.8	Hail	10	42	12	4	Very Low
Dolores County	33	1	3.1	137.7	Other	0	5	9	0	Very Low
Summit County	18	0	3.0	5.8	Wind	0	2	6	30	Relatively Low
Moffat County	125	0	2.6	94.8	Wind	7	21	6	0	Very Low
Grand County	46	2	2.5	29.0	Wind	1	4	8	7	Relatively Low
Lake County	8	0	2.1	10.8	Lightning	0	2	6	1	Very Low
Costilla County	24	0	2.0	66.2	Flood	7	6	10	3	Very Low
Gunnison County	65	0	2.0	37.6	Other	1	2	9	40	Relatively Low
Saguache County	64	2	2.0	98.9	Hail	7	40	9	2	Very Low
Hinsdale County	16	1	1.4	204.9	Flood	0	1	8	1	Very Low
Conejos County	14	0	1.1	18.4	Hail	5	8	7	5	Very Low
Mineral County	7	0	0.8	75.8	Other	1	0	8	0	Very Low
Jackson County	11	0	0.7	80.7	Wind	3	1	6	0	Very Low

Events are county-recorded plus zone-recorded events whose zone is named for the county. NRI risk is FEMA's National Risk Index overall rating (December 2025).

Counties by flood claims per 100 policies in force

County	Claims, last 10 years	Policies in force	Claims per 100 policies	Claims since 1978	Paid
Pueblo County	11	106	10.4	100	$332K
La Plata County	30	336	8.9	67	$1.3M
Arapahoe County	56	677	8.3	207	$1.0M
El Paso County	93	1,208	7.7	857	$6.0M
Adams County	20	283	7.1	154	$594K
Denver County	41	765	5.4	243	$719K
Douglas County	16	311	5.1	70	$661K
Garfield County	5	103	4.9	30	$94K
Jefferson County	62	1,293	4.8	491	$3.1M
Eagle County	8	213	3.8	35	$270K
Weld County	12	325	3.7	194	$5.7M
Summit County	5	145	3.4	30	$20K
Larimer County	22	794	2.8	547	$15M
Fremont County	5	184	2.7	72	$344K
Boulder County	51	2,543	2.0	1,784	$50M

Counties with at least 100 residential policies in force. Claims by year of loss in the ten years to 2026, divided by residential policies in force as of 3 Aug 2026; a rough ratio, since policies in force today differ from those in force when the losses occurred.

Federal disaster declarations by year

195319902026

Declarations touching Colorado by year declared, 1953 to 2026; each disaster number counted once.

Incident type	Declarations
Fire	86
Flood	14
Severe Storm	3
Snowstorm	3
Biological	2
Coastal Storm	1
Drought	1
Dam/Levee Break	1
Tornado	1

Most recent declarations (each disaster number once, with the number of counties designated):

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Counties
1 Sep 2026	DR-4944	Major disaster	Fire	Wildfires, Flooding, And Mudslides	4
5 Jul 2026	FM-5644	Fire management assistance	Fire	Willow Fire	1
30 Jun 2026	FM-5643	Fire management assistance	Fire	Gold Mountain Fire	1
29 Jun 2026	FM-5642	Fire management assistance	Fire	Aspen Acres Fire	2
11 Aug 2025	FM-5606	Fire management assistance	Fire	Oak Fire	1
6 Aug 2025	FM-5604	Fire management assistance	Fire	Elk Fire	1
6 Aug 2025	FM-5603	Fire management assistance	Fire	Lee Fire	1
1 Aug 2024	FM-5526	Fire management assistance	Fire	Quarry Fire	1
31 Jul 2024	FM-5525	Fire management assistance	Fire	Stone Mountain Fire	2
31 Jul 2024	FM-5524	Fire management assistance	Fire	Alexander Mountain Fire	1
25 Aug 2023	DR-4731	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes	14
31 Dec 2021	DR-4634	Major disaster	Fire	Wildfires And Straight-Line Winds	1
30 Dec 2021	FM-5423	Fire management assistance	Fire	Marshall Fire	1
15 Jan 2021	DR-4581	Major disaster	Fire	Wildfires	2
17 Oct 2020	FM-5379	Fire management assistance	Fire	Calwood Fire	1

Flood insurance claims by year

197820022026

NFIP claims in Colorado by year of loss, 1978 to 2026.

5,802 claims, 3,637 paid, $92M in total; 103 repetitive-loss and 4 severe repetitive-loss properties. ZIP codes in Colorado with flood claims (182).

Year by year

Each year's events, declarations and claims: 2026 · 2025 · 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018 · 2017 · 2016 · 2015 · 2014 · 2013 · 2012 · 2011 · 2010 · 2009 · 2008 · 2007 · 2006 · 2005 · 2004 · 2003 · 2002 · 2001 · 2000 · 1999 · 1998 · 1997 · and earlier years back to 1950

Questions and answers

Which Colorado counties have the most recorded tornadoes?

Weld (293), Washington (213) and Adams (192), by NCEI count since 1950. Larger counties record more events; the state table also ranks by events per 100 square miles.

Which Colorado counties have the most flood insurance claims?

Boulder (1,784), El Paso (857) and Larimer (547) since 1978, in the OpenFEMA NFIP claims file.

How many federal disaster declarations has Colorado had?

112 declarations since 1953 (major disaster, emergency and fire management assistance declarations combined), 4 of them in 2026 so far.

How does Colorado compare with the national rate?

49.4 recorded events per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally; 1.0 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 8.1.

Provenance

NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 refreshed 29 Sep 2026; OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026); FEMA National Risk Index December 2025; US Census Bureau 2021 population and area. Built 30 Sep 2026. Methodology.