NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Fort Collins, 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 Fort Collins, Colorado since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 112 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 112
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Fort Collins
The highest rating among the 112 tornadoes within 25 miles is EF3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on June 4, 2015, came within 21 miles. The deadliest, an EF3 on May 22, 2008, killed 1 person. Of the 112, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 32 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 32. The most recent tornado was on July 31, 2023. Fort Collins has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 61% of the 157 Colorado cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 379 times since 1961, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Fort Collins has more hail reports within 10 miles than 85% of the 157 Colorado cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Fort Collins
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s10(1 EF3+)
- 2000s16(1 EF3+)
- 1990s30
- 1980s26
- 1970s12
- 1960s4
- 1950s8
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 22, 2008 | EF3 | 4 mi | 38.69 mi | 1 / 78 |
| Jun 4, 2015 | EF3 | 21 mi | 6.71 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 2021 | EF2 | 24 mi | 7.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 9, 1990 | F2 | 13 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 4, 1976 | F2 | 2 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 1965 | F2 | 22 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 1957 | F2 | 8 mi | 1.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 30, 1957 | F2 | 10 mi | 9.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 10, 1955 | F2 | 18 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 4, 2004 | F1 | 15 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 4, 2004 | F1 | 19 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 4, 2004 | F1 | 19 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 112, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Fort Collins
The Storm Prediction Center has 379 hail reports within 10 miles of Fort Collins since 1961, made on 140 separate days. Of these, 264 were 1 inch across or larger, and 24 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on July 30, 1979. The most recent report is from September 16, 2025. June has the most reports, 157.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Fort Collins
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Fort Collins, CO, 2 miles northwest of Fort Collins at 5,004 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 59°F; December is the coolest, at 44°F and 18°F. May is the wettest at 2.7 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 15.9 inches over 37 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 29 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 150 nights a year. Snowfall averages 51.4 inches a year, most of it in March. That 15.9 inches is more than at 49 of the 91 Colorado stations used on this site (54%). Timnath, 5 miles east, has its own station (Fort Collins 4 E, CO): 14.8 inches a year, 1.1 less than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 45 | 18 | 0.4 | 2 | 6.7 |
| Feb | 47 | 21 | 0.5 | 2 | 7.6 |
| Mar | 56 | 29 | 1.3 | 3 | 9.4 |
| Apr | 63 | 35 | 2.1 | 5 | 6.2 |
| May | 71 | 44 | 2.7 | 6 | 1.6 |
| Jun | 82 | 53 | 1.9 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 87 | 59 | 1.6 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 57 | 1.5 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 48 | 1.4 | 3 | 0.7 |
| Oct | 64 | 36 | 1.3 | 3 | 4.1 |
| Nov | 53 | 26 | 0.7 | 2 | 7.6 |
| Dec | 44 | 18 | 0.5 | 2 | 7.5 |
| Year | 65 | 37 | 15.9 | 37 | 51.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Fort Collins, CO (5,004 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 Fort Collins
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 52 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Fort Collins: 28 thunderstorm wind reports, 9 lightning strikes, 7 flash floods, 7 floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 4 people and injured 9, and the NWS estimated $1.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 26, 2010. June has had the most flash floods, 4 of 7. Of the 144 Colorado cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 77 have had fewer than Fort Collins.
July 2, 2005: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Fort Collins — 2 killed, 4 injured.
July 24, 2008: lightning strike 2 miles from the centre of Fort Collins — 2 killed.
July 28, 1996: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Fort Collins — 2 injured.
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 Fort Collins's 5 ZIP codes have filed 107 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $1.5 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 30 claims (28% of all) and $388,000. 36% 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, 45 have fewer than Fort Collins.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 30 | $388,000 |
Larimer County, which includes Fort Collins, 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 Fort Collins
- Timnath, CO5 mi
- Laporte, CO10 mi
- Loveland, CO10 mi
- Windsor, CO10 mi
- Wellington, CO15 mi
- Johnstown, CO17 mi
- Berthoud, CO18 mi
- Eaton, CO19 mi
- Milliken, CO19 mi
- Greeley, CO21 mi
- Ault, CO22 mi
- Mead, CO22 mi
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