NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit La Junta, 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 La Junta, Colorado since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 65 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 65
- 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 La Junta
The highest rating among the 65 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 5 times; the most recent, on April 13, 1977, came within 18 miles. Of the 65, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 26 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 26. The most recent tornado was on July 6, 2022. La Junta has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 50% of the 157 Colorado cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 108 times since 1960, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). La Junta has more hail reports within 10 miles than 50% of the 157 Colorado cities.
Compare La Junta's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of La Junta
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s8
- 2000s10
- 1990s13
- 1980s6
- 1970s8
- 1960s5
- 1950s7
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 13, 1977 | F2 | 18 mi | 5.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 22, 1975 | F2 | 15 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 29, 1962 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1956 | F2 | 17 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 1951 | F2 | 12 mi | 29.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 2004 | F1 | 17 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 24, 1998 | F1 | 9 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 11, 1997 | F1 | 16 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 11, 1997 | F1 | 13 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 11, 1997 | F1 | 12 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jun 25, 1989 | F1 | 8 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 7, 1987 | F1 | 2 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 65, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in La Junta
The Storm Prediction Center has 108 hail reports within 10 miles of La Junta since 1960, made on 73 separate days. Of these, 81 were 1 inch across or larger, and 15 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on June 23, 1987. The most recent report is from July 3, 2024. June has the most reports, 40.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in La Junta
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is La Junta, CO, 1 mile south of La Junta at 4,089 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 46°F and 17°F. July is the wettest at 2.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 13.7 inches over 33 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 85 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 155 nights a year. Snowfall averages 33.8 inches a year, most of it in January. That 13.7 inches is more than at 23 of the 91 Colorado stations used on this site (25%). Rocky Ford, 10 miles west, has its own station (Rocky Ford 2 SE, CO): 12.6 inches a year, 1.1 less than here, and the same July average high, 93°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 46 | 17 | 0.5 | 2 | 7.2 |
| Feb | 50 | 20 | 0.4 | 2 | 6.3 |
| Mar | 61 | 28 | 1.0 | 3 | 6.0 |
| Apr | 68 | 36 | 1.4 | 4 | 2.1 |
| May | 77 | 46 | 1.7 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 88 | 57 | 1.5 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 93 | 63 | 2.2 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 90 | 61 | 1.7 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 83 | 52 | 1.0 | 2 | 0.1 |
| Oct | 70 | 37 | 1.3 | 3 | 2.8 |
| Nov | 57 | 25 | 0.5 | 1 | 2.8 |
| Dec | 46 | 17 | 0.5 | 2 | 6.5 |
| Year | 69 | 38 | 13.7 | 33 | 33.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at La Junta, CO (4,089 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 La Junta
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 105 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of La Junta: 75 thunderstorm wind reports, 13 flash floods, 11 floods, 5 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 2 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $250,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on June 26, 2007. July 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 La Junta.
June 12, 2016: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of La Junta — 1 killed, $10,000 damage.
NWS: “A microburst flipped over a 30-foot trailer home and killed the male occupant.”
June 12, 2024: flood 3 miles from the centre of La Junta — 1 killed.
NWS: “Sustained high flow releases from Pueblo Reservoir led to brief periods of minor flooding along the Arkansas River in La Junta (LXHC2) from June 12-13 and again on June 15. 32 ft on June 15.”
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 La Junta's ZIP code 81050 have filed 133 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.7 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1999, with 101. Of the 56 Colorado cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 48 have fewer than La Junta.
Otero County, which includes La Junta, has been named in 9 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 5 of them major disasters (by incident: 2 biological emergencies, 1 coastal storm, 1 drought, 1 fire). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 28, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Otero County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes and inland flooding; Very Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $11.9 million a year, the 32nd highest of 64 Colorado counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.5 million (55%), 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 La Junta
- Rocky Ford, CO10 mi
- Las Animas, CO19 mi
- Ordway, CO21 mi
- Lamar, CO51 mi
- Pueblo, CO61 mi
- Pueblo West, CO69 mi
- Walsenburg, CO74 mi
- Trinidad, CO76 mi
- Fountain, CO78 mi
- Calhan, CO80 mi
- Fort Carson, CO84 mi
- Penrose, CO86 mi
All Colorado cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare La Junta with another place →