NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Canon City, 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 Canon City, Colorado since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 16 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 16
- 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 Canon City
The highest rating among the 16 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1 or EF1, reached 6 times; the most recent, on August 9, 2024, came within 24 miles. Of the 16, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 7 have come since 2000. June and July have had the most tornadoes, 5 each. Of the 157 Colorado cities on this site, 62% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Canon City. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 30 times since 1958, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 157 Colorado cities, 64% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Canon City.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Canon City
By decade
- 2020s2
- 2010s3
- 2000s2
- 1990s3
- 1980s4
- 1970s1
- 1960s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 9, 2024 | EF1 | 24 mi | 0.92 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 13, 1989 | F1 | 14 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 21, 1988 | F1 | 14 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 22, 1985 | F1 | 4 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 19, 1985 | F1 | 15 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 15, 1974 | F1 | 25 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 30, 2023 | EF0 | 19 mi | 3.02 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 22, 2019 | EF0 | 21 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 25, 2014 | EF0 | 10 mi | 0.96 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 2004 | F0 | 13 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 5, 2003 | F0 | 21 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1997 | F0 | 14 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 16, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Canon City
The Storm Prediction Center has 30 hail reports within 10 miles of Canon City since 1958, made on 22 separate days. Of these, 20 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2 inches (hen egg size), was reported on 3 days, most recently June 12, 2023. The most recent report is from June 10, 2024. June and July have the most reports, 9 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Canon City
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Canon City, CO, 3 miles east of Canon City at 5,378 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 59°F; December is the coolest, at 49°F and 19°F. July is the wettest at 2.3 inches of precipitation on average and December the driest at 0.5 inches; the year adds up to 14.1 inches over 35 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 43 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 144 nights a year. Snowfall averages 38.3 inches a year, most of it in January. That 14.1 inches is more than at 27 of the 91 Colorado stations used on this site (30%). Cotopaxi, 16 miles southwest, has its own station (Westcliffe, CO): 13.8 inches a year, 0.3 less than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 89°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 49 | 18 | 0.6 | 2 | 6.7 |
| Feb | 50 | 20 | 0.6 | 2 | 6.2 |
| Mar | 59 | 26 | 1.0 | 3 | 6.0 |
| Apr | 64 | 33 | 1.8 | 4 | 4.1 |
| May | 73 | 43 | 1.6 | 3 | 0.5 |
| Jun | 85 | 52 | 0.9 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 89 | 59 | 2.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 87 | 57 | 2.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 80 | 48 | 1.2 | 3 | 0.2 |
| Oct | 69 | 36 | 0.9 | 2 | 3.3 |
| Nov | 57 | 26 | 0.6 | 2 | 5.1 |
| Dec | 49 | 19 | 0.5 | 2 | 6.2 |
| Year | 68 | 36 | 14.1 | 35 | 38.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Canon City, CO (5,378 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 Canon City
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 36 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Canon City: 21 flash floods, 7 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 heavy rain events, 3 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $5,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 70 mph, on August 5, 2009. July has had the most flash floods, 11 of 21. Of the 144 Colorado cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 126 have had fewer than Canon City.
July 1, 2019: lightning strike 3 miles from the centre of Canon City — 1 injured.
NWS: “One confirmed lightning injury occurred in downtown Canon City. An 11 year old female was struck inside her home near a sink and had to be transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.”
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 Canon City's ZIP code 81212 have filed 63 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $214,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1996, with 23. 10% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 56 Colorado cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 38 have fewer than Canon City.
Fremont County, which includes Canon City, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 fires, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 coastal storm). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 28, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Fremont County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail and inland flooding; Relatively Low for tornadoes, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $22.4 million a year, the 17th highest of 64 Colorado counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $16.1 million (72%), 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 Canon City
- Florence, CO10 mi
- Penrose, CO14 mi
- Cotopaxi, CO16 mi
- Westcliffe, CO25 mi
- Florissant, CO29 mi
- Pueblo West, CO30 mi
- Divide, CO32 mi
- Manitou Springs, CO33 mi
- Fort Carson, CO34 mi
- Fountain, CO35 mi
- Woodland Park, CO39 mi
- Pueblo, CO39 mi
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