NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Brighton, 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 Brighton, Colorado since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 296 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 296
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Brighton
The highest rating among the 296 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 4 times; the most recent, on May 22, 2008, came within 19 miles. Of the 296, 23 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 87 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 115. The most recent tornado was on July 14, 2025. Brighton has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 96% of the 157 Colorado cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 188 times since 1955, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Brighton has more hail reports within 10 miles than 64% of the 157 Colorado cities.
Compare Brighton's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Brighton
By decade
- 2020s20
- 2010s34
- 2000s33(1 EF3+)
- 1990s79
- 1980s83(2 EF3+)
- 1970s23(1 EF3+)
- 1960s16
- 1950s8
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 22, 2008 | EF3 | 19 mi | 38.69 mi | 1 / 78 |
| Jun 15, 1988 | F3 | 18 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jun 12, 1982 | F3 | 14 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 1975 | F3 | 9 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 2025 | EF2 | 22 mi | 4.44 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 2025 | EF2 | 22 mi | 4.34 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 2021 | EF2 | 14 mi | 7.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 13, 1996 | F2 | 23 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1988 | F2 | 18 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1988 | F2 | 16 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1988 | F2 | 11 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 2, 1987 | F2 | 6 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 296, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Brighton
The Storm Prediction Center has 188 hail reports within 10 miles of Brighton since 1955, made on 100 separate days. Of these, 131 were 1 inch across or larger, and 21 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on May 18, 1958. The most recent report is from August 1, 2025. June has the most reports, 67.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Brighton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Brighton 3 SE, CO, 4 miles southwest of Brighton at 5,016 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 58°F; December is the coolest, at 44°F and 16°F. Highs reach 90°F on about 49 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 163 nights a year. Snowfall averages 34.5 inches a year, most of it in March. That 14.2 inches is more than at 28 of the 91 Colorado stations used on this site (31%). Thornton, 11 miles southwest, has its own station (Northglenn, CO): 14.5 inches a year, 0.3 more than here, and a July average high of 91°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 16 | 0.4 | 2 | 5.2 |
| Feb | 46 | 19 | 0.4 | 2 | 5.3 |
| Mar | 56 | 27 | 1.0 | 3 | 6.0 |
| Apr | 63 | 34 | 1.8 | 4 | 3.1 |
| May | 72 | 43 | 2.4 | 5 | 0.5 |
| Jun | 84 | 52 | 1.4 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 90 | 58 | 1.7 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 88 | 56 | 1.8 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 80 | 47 | 1.2 | 3 | 0.2 |
| Oct | 66 | 35 | 1.0 | 3 | 3.2 |
| Nov | 53 | 25 | 0.7 | 2 | 5.8 |
| Dec | 44 | 16 | 0.4 | 1 | 5.2 |
| Year | 65 | 36 | 14.2 | 34 | 34.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Brighton 3 SE, CO (5,016 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 Brighton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 61 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Brighton: 51 thunderstorm wind reports, 6 flash floods, 2 floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $3.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on August 10, 1999. September has had the most flash floods, 4 of 6. Of the 144 Colorado cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 68 have had fewer than Brighton.
June 25, 1999: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Brighton — 1 killed.
September 9, 2011: lightning strike 3 miles from the centre of Brighton — 1 injured.
September 12, 2013: flood 9 miles from the centre of Brighton — $2.1 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
Adams County, which includes Brighton, has been named in 12 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms, 1 coastal storm). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 28, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Adams County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for hail and lightning; Relatively High for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding; Relatively Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $130.9 million a year, the 5th highest of 64 Colorado counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $44.5 million (34%), is from hail.
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.