NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Bayfield, CO
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Bayfield, Colorado since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 4 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 4
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Bayfield
The highest rating among the 4 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1, reached 2 times; the most recent, on October 5, 2004, came within 17 miles. Of the 157 Colorado cities on this site, 76% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Bayfield. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 11 times since 2000, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 157 Colorado cities, 71% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Bayfield.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Bayfield
By decade
- 2000s2
- 1990s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 5, 2004 | F1 | 17 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1997 | F1 | 7 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 29, 2002 | F0 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 1992 | F0 | 23 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 4 of 4, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Bayfield
The Storm Prediction Center has 11 hail reports within 10 miles of Bayfield since 2000, made on 7 separate days. Of these, 9 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on September 22, 2013. The most recent report is from September 11, 2022. September has the most reports, 8.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Bayfield
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Vallecito Dam, CO, 4 miles north of Bayfield at 7,644 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 49°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 7°F. September is the wettest at 3.4 inches of precipitation on average and June the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 25.8 inches over 61 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 1 days a year. Lows fall below freezing on about 212 nights a year. Snowfall averages 84.9 inches a year, most of it in December. That 25.8 inches is more than at 88 of the 91 Colorado stations used on this site (97%). Durango, 12 miles west, has its own station (Durango, CO): 19.7 inches a year, 6.1 less than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 7 | 2.5 | 4 | 19.6 |
| Feb | 41 | 11 | 2.1 | 5 | 21.2 |
| Mar | 49 | 20 | 1.7 | 4 | 10.4 |
| Apr | 57 | 27 | 1.4 | 4 | 3.6 |
| May | 66 | 35 | 1.7 | 5 | 0.6 |
| Jun | 77 | 42 | 0.9 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 81 | 49 | 2.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 48 | 3.2 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 40 | 3.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 30 | 2.3 | 5 | 0.7 |
| Nov | 48 | 21 | 1.9 | 4 | 7.4 |
| Dec | 39 | 12 | 2.1 | 5 | 21.4 |
| Year | 59 | 29 | 25.8 | 61 | 84.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Vallecito Dam, CO (7,644 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Bayfield
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 18 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Bayfield: 8 heavy rain events, 5 flash floods, 2 thunderstorm wind reports, 2 lightning strikes and 1 flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on April 29, 1999. September has had the most flash floods, 3 of 5. Of the 144 Colorado cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 53 have had fewer than Bayfield.
April 29, 1999: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Bayfield — $1.0 million damage.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Bayfield's ZIP code 81122 have filed 25 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 2002, and were paid $446,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2025, with 20. Of the 56 Colorado cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 20 have fewer than Bayfield.
La Plata County, which includes Bayfield, has been named in 10 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1970, 4 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 fires, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 1 coastal storm). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 28, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives La Plata County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding; Very Low for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $39.5 million a year, the 12th highest of 64 Colorado counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $24.3 million (62%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Bayfield
- Durango, CO12 mi
- Ignacio, CO16 mi
- Pagosa Springs, CO27 mi
- Hesperus, CO34 mi
- Mancos, CO39 mi
- Aztec, NM40 mi
- Flora Vista, NM45 mi
- Dulce, NM49 mi
- Dolores, CO49 mi
- Bloomfield, NM54 mi
- Cortez, CO56 mi
- Farmington, NM57 mi
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