NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Hotchkiss, 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 Hotchkiss, Colorado since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 4 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 4
- 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 Hotchkiss
The highest rating among the 4 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 6, 2005, came within 19 miles. Of the 157 Colorado cities on this site, 76% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Hotchkiss.
Compare Hotchkiss's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Hotchkiss
By decade
- 2000s3
- 1990s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, 2005 | F1 | 19 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 13, 2004 | F1 | 15 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 11, 2002 | F1 | 21 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 31, 1994 | F0 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 4 of 4, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Hotchkiss
The Storm Prediction Center has no hail reports within 10 miles of Hotchkiss since 1955.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Hotchkiss
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Paonia 1SW, CO, 7 miles east of Hotchkiss at 5,581 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 57°F; January is the coolest, at 39°F and 16°F. September is the wettest at 1.5 inches of precipitation on average and June the driest at 0.6 inches; the year adds up to 14.2 inches over 47 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 45 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 148 nights a year. Snowfall averages 41.4 inches a year, most of it in January. That 14.2 inches is more than at 28 of the 91 Colorado stations used on this site (31%). Cedaredge, 13 miles northwest, has its own station (Cedaredge 3E, CO): 12.4 inches a year, 1.8 less than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 39 | 16 | 1.2 | 4 | 11.4 |
| Feb | 45 | 22 | 1.2 | 4 | 7.2 |
| Mar | 56 | 29 | 1.2 | 4 | 4.8 |
| Apr | 63 | 34 | 1.2 | 4 | 1.7 |
| May | 73 | 43 | 1.3 | 4 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 85 | 51 | 0.6 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 90 | 57 | 1.0 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 88 | 56 | 1.3 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 80 | 48 | 1.5 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Oct | 67 | 37 | 1.4 | 4 | 0.8 |
| Nov | 53 | 27 | 1.1 | 4 | 5.2 |
| Dec | 40 | 17 | 1.2 | 4 | 10.1 |
| Year | 65 | 36 | 14.2 | 47 | 41.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Paonia 1SW, CO (5,581 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 Hotchkiss
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 17 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Hotchkiss: 11 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 floods, 2 flash floods and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $2.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on August 19, 2010.
August 19, 2010: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Hotchkiss — $2.0 million damage.
NWS: “A strong eastward-moving thunderstorm cell collapsed over central Delta County and produced damaging winds across portions of eastern Delta County. Measured wind speeds included 79 mph at a location 4 miles northwest of Hotchkiss and 90 mph at a location just under 3 miles southeast of Hotchkiss.”
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
Delta County, which includes Hotchkiss, has been named in 9 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1970, 5 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 fires, 1 coastal storm). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 28, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Delta County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Low for inland flooding; Very Low for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $14.1 million a year, the 30th highest of 64 Colorado counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $10.8 million (77%), 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 Hotchkiss
- Paonia, CO9 mi
- Cedaredge, CO13 mi
- Delta, CO20 mi
- Olathe, CO21 mi
- Montrose, CO31 mi
- Palisade, CO39 mi
- Crested Butte, CO42 mi
- Clifton, CO42 mi
- Carbondale, CO46 mi
- Grand Junction, CO47 mi
- Gunnison, CO49 mi
- Snowmass Village, CO51 mi
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