NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Estes Park, 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 Estes Park, Colorado since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 7 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 7
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Estes Park
The strongest of the 7 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF3 on June 4, 2015; its path came within 18 miles. Of the 7, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 2 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on May 18, 2018. Of the 157 Colorado cities on this site, 72% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Estes Park. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 24 times since 1981, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 157 Colorado cities, 66% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Estes Park.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Estes Park
By decade
- 2010s2(1 EF3+)
- 1980s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 4, 2015 | EF3 | 18 mi | 6.71 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 1987 | F1 | 14 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 2, 1985 | F1 | 18 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 7, 1983 | F1 | 23 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 2018 | EF0 | 8 mi | 0.01 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 7, 1988 | F0 | 4 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 30, 1983 | F0 | 11 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 7 of 7, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Estes Park
The Storm Prediction Center has 24 hail reports within 10 miles of Estes Park since 1981, made on 20 separate days. Of these, 13 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on July 18, 1981. The most recent report is from June 17, 2025. July has the most reports, 11.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Estes Park
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Estes Park 3 SSE, CO, 2 miles south of Estes Park at 7,812 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 48°F; December is the coolest, at 36°F and 16°F. Highs reach 90°F on about 2 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 184 nights a year. Snowfall averages 104.0 inches a year, most of it in April. That 17.6 inches is more than at 65 of the 91 Colorado stations used on this site (71%). Loveland, 22 miles east, has its own station (Loveland 2N, CO): 15.7 inches a year, 1.9 less than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37 | 16 | 0.8 | 2 | 9.8 |
| Feb | 38 | 16 | 0.7 | 3 | 13.3 |
| Mar | 45 | 21 | 1.6 | 4 | 18.8 |
| Apr | 52 | 26 | 2.3 | 5 | 19.3 |
| May | 61 | 35 | 2.3 | 6 | 9.5 |
| Jun | 74 | 43 | 1.4 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 80 | 48 | 2.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 78 | 46 | 1.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 70 | 39 | 1.7 | 4 | 0.5 |
| Oct | 57 | 30 | 1.1 | 3 | 9.1 |
| Nov | 44 | 24 | 0.7 | 3 | 11.0 |
| Dec | 36 | 16 | 0.7 | 3 | 12.7 |
| Year | 56 | 30 | 17.6 | 48 | 104.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Estes Park 3 SSE, CO (7,812 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 Estes Park
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 17 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Estes Park: 12 flash floods and 5 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 13, and the NWS estimated $185,000 in property and crop damage. July has had the most flash floods, 6 of 12. Of the 144 Colorado cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 103 have had fewer than Estes Park.
July 11, 2014: lightning strike 10 miles from the centre of Estes Park — 1 killed, 7 injured.
NWS: “Lightning killed one person and injured seven others at RMNP.”
July 12, 2014: lightning strike 10 miles from the centre of Estes Park — 1 killed, 4 injured.
NWS: “Lightning killed one man and injured four others in RMNP.”
August 3, 2010: lightning strike 10 miles from the centre of Estes Park — 1 injured.
NWS: “A hiker was struck while traversing The Narrows portion of Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. The 31-year-old man was struck late in the afternoon at an elevation of 13,800 ft.”
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 Estes Park's ZIP code 80517 have filed 145 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $3.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Late summer storms in 2013: 102 claims (70% of all) and $2.4 million. 70% 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, 50 have fewer than Estes Park.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Late summer storms2013 | 102 | $2.4 million |
Larimer County, which includes Estes Park, has been named in 30 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 15 fires, 7 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Wildfires, on January 15, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Larimer County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for lightning; Relatively High for tornadoes, hail 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 $126.5 million a year, the 6th highest of 64 Colorado counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $54.3 million (43%), 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 Estes Park
- Lyons, CO12 mi
- Loveland, CO22 mi
- Berthoud, CO23 mi
- Fort Collins, CO27 mi
- Longmont, CO27 mi
- Laporte, CO27 mi
- Boulder, CO28 mi
- Granby, CO28 mi
- Nederland, CO28 mi
- Mead, CO29 mi
- Timnath, CO30 mi
- Johnstown, CO32 mi
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