NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Fountain, 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 Fountain, Colorado since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 62 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 62
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Fountain
The highest rating among the 62 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on June 24, 1979, came within 13 miles. Of the 62, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 23 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 18. The most recent tornado was on March 26, 2024. Of the 157 Colorado cities on this site, 50% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Fountain. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 283 times since 1956, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Fountain has more hail reports within 10 miles than 79% of the 157 Colorado cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Fountain
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s11
- 2000s9
- 1990s17
- 1980s6
- 1970s10(2 EF3+)
- 1960s6
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 24, 1979 | F3 | 13 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 13, 1977 | F3 | 21 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 2001 | F2 | 19 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 5 |
| May 28, 2001 | F2 | 20 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 11, 1977 | F2 | 7 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 20, 2023 | EF1 | 24 mi | 1.45 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 9, 2006 | F1 | 24 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 2001 | F1 | 19 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jun 22, 1995 | F1 | 20 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 13, 1989 | F1 | 25 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 21, 1988 | F1 | 25 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 19, 1985 | F1 | 24 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 62, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Fountain
The Storm Prediction Center has 283 hail reports within 10 miles of Fountain since 1956, made on 149 separate days. Of these, 204 were 1 inch across or larger, and 27 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on August 6, 2018. The most recent report is from July 16, 2025. June has the most reports, 99.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Fountain
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, CO, 9 miles north of Fountain at 6,181 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 58°F; December is the coolest, at 45°F and 19°F. July is the wettest at 3.1 inches of precipitation on average and December the driest at 0.2 inches; the year adds up to 16.1 inches over 37 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 23 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 160 nights a year. Snowfall averages 32.5 inches a year, most of it in March. That 16.1 inches is more than at 51 of the 91 Colorado stations used on this site (56%). Manitou Springs, 18 miles northwest, has its own station (Ruxton Park, CO): 24.0 inches a year, 7.9 more than here, and a July average high of 74°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 45 | 19 | 0.3 | 1 | 4.9 |
| Feb | 47 | 20 | 0.3 | 1 | 4.6 |
| Mar | 55 | 27 | 0.8 | 2 | 5.7 |
| Apr | 61 | 34 | 1.5 | 4 | 5.5 |
| May | 71 | 44 | 2.0 | 5 | 0.6 |
| Jun | 82 | 53 | 2.3 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 87 | 58 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 57 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 49 | 1.4 | 3 | 0.2 |
| Oct | 65 | 37 | 0.8 | 2 | 2.5 |
| Nov | 53 | 26 | 0.4 | 1 | 4.4 |
| Dec | 45 | 19 | 0.2 | 1 | 4.1 |
| Year | 64 | 37 | 16.1 | 37 | 32.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, CO (6,181 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 Fountain
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 93 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Fountain: 32 heavy rain events, 28 flash floods, 23 thunderstorm wind reports, 6 floods and 4 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 17, and the NWS estimated $10.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on July 29, 2019. August has had the most flash floods, 10 of 28. Of the 144 Colorado cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 135 have had fewer than Fountain.
May 30, 2001: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Fountain — 1 killed, 3 injured.
September 15, 2013: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Fountain — 1 killed.
July 31, 2013: lightning strike 4 miles from the centre of Fountain — 12 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 Fountain's ZIP code 80817 have filed 25 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $11,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 56 Colorado cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 20 have fewer than Fountain.
El Paso County, which includes Fountain, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 5 fires, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes, on August 25, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives El Paso County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for lightning; Relatively High for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $212.6 million a year, the 3rd highest of 64 Colorado counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $105.2 million (49%), 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 Fountain
- Fort Carson, CO6 mi
- Colorado Springs, CO16 mi
- Manitou Springs, CO18 mi
- Peyton, CO22 mi
- Pueblo West, CO24 mi
- Penrose, CO24 mi
- Usaf Academy, CO24 mi
- Pueblo, CO29 mi
- Calhan, CO29 mi
- Woodland Park, CO30 mi
- Florence, CO30 mi
- Monument, CO31 mi
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