NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Highlands Ranch, 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 Highlands Ranch, Colorado since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 172 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 172
- 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 Highlands Ranch
The highest rating among the 172 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on June 15, 1988, came within 13 miles. Of the 172, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 39 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 70. The most recent tornado was on July 14, 2025. Highlands Ranch has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 77% of the 157 Colorado cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 345 times since 1961, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Highlands Ranch has more hail reports within 10 miles than 83% of the 157 Colorado cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Highlands Ranch
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s15
- 2000s16
- 1990s29
- 1980s54(1 EF3+)
- 1970s23(1 EF3+)
- 1960s23
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 15, 1988 | F3 | 13 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 18, 1975 | F3 | 22 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 2025 | EF2 | 18 mi | 0.94 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1988 | F2 | 13 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 1987 | F2 | 24 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 8, 1986 | F2 | 13 mi | 1.1 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jul 19, 1985 | F2 | 5 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 3, 1981 | F2 | 23 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 42 |
| Jun 3, 1981 | F2 | 13 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 17, 1978 | F2 | 13 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 1976 | F2 | 18 mi | 5.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 20, 1961 | F2 | 11 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 172, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Highlands Ranch
The Storm Prediction Center has 345 hail reports within 10 miles of Highlands Ranch since 1961, made on 161 separate days. Of these, 238 were 1 inch across or larger, and 17 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on June 19, 2018. The most recent report is from October 27, 2025. June has the most reports, 150.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Highlands Ranch
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Denver Centennial Airport, CO, 7 miles east of Highlands Ranch at 5,883 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 19°F. Highs reach 90°F on about 32 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 155 nights a year. That 15.0 inches is more than at 40 of the 91 Colorado stations used on this site (44%). Littleton, 6 miles northwest, has its own station (Marston Fltr Plt, CO): 16.7 inches a year, 1.7 more than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 45 | 19 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Feb | 46 | 20 | 0.4 | 2 |
| Mar | 54 | 27 | 1.0 | 3 |
| Apr | 60 | 34 | 1.9 | 5 |
| May | 69 | 43 | 2.0 | 5 |
| Jun | 81 | 52 | 2.0 | 4 |
| Jul | 87 | 59 | 1.8 | 5 |
| Aug | 85 | 57 | 2.3 | 4 |
| Sep | 77 | 49 | 1.3 | 3 |
| Oct | 64 | 36 | 1.0 | 3 |
| Nov | 52 | 26 | 0.5 | 2 |
| Dec | 44 | 19 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Year | 64 | 37 | 15.0 | 37 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Denver Centennial Airport, CO (5,883 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 Highlands Ranch
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 86 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Highlands Ranch: 54 thunderstorm wind reports, 14 lightning strikes, 13 flash floods, 3 floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 3 people and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $1.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 6, 2020. June has had the most flash floods, 6 of 13. Of the 144 Colorado cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 105 have had fewer than Highlands Ranch.
July 8, 1997: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Highlands Ranch — 1 killed, 2 injured.
May 7, 2017: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Highlands Ranch — 1 killed, 1 injured, $5,000 damage.
July 24, 2018: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Highlands Ranch — 1 killed, $500,000 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
Douglas County, which includes Highlands Ranch, has been named in 13 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 fires, 3 floods, 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 Douglas 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 $113.5 million a year, the 8th highest of 64 Colorado counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $43.7 million (38%), 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 Highlands Ranch
- Lone Tree, CO4 mi
- Centennial, CO5 mi
- Littleton, CO6 mi
- Greenwood Village, CO7 mi
- Englewood, CO7 mi
- Castle Rock, CO10 mi
- Parker, CO11 mi
- Morrison, CO13 mi
- Aurora, CO13 mi
- Lakewood, CO13 mi
- Denver, CO13 mi
- Sedalia, CO15 mi
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