NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lafayette, 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 Lafayette, Colorado since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 165 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 165
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Lafayette
The highest rating among the 165 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 4 times; the most recent, on June 4, 2015, came within 17 miles. The deadliest, an EF3 on May 22, 2008, killed 1 person. Of the 165, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 40 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 79. The most recent tornado was on June 13, 2025. Lafayette has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 74% of the 157 Colorado cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 378 times since 1961, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Lafayette has more hail reports within 10 miles than 85% of the 157 Colorado cities.
Compare Lafayette's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Lafayette
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s14(1 EF3+)
- 2000s19(1 EF3+)
- 1990s47
- 1980s48(1 EF3+)
- 1970s13(1 EF3+)
- 1960s10
- 1950s7
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 22, 2008 | EF3 | 24 mi | 38.69 mi | 1 / 78 |
| Jun 4, 2015 | EF3 | 17 mi | 6.71 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1988 | F3 | 21 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 18, 1975 | F3 | 24 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 2021 | EF2 | 14 mi | 7.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1988 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1988 | F2 | 4 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1988 | F2 | 7 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 2, 1987 | F2 | 21 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 8, 1986 | F2 | 22 mi | 1.1 mi | 0 / 6 |
| May 18, 1984 | F2 | 24 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 3, 1981 | F2 | 11 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 42 |
The strongest 12 of 165, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Lafayette
The Storm Prediction Center has 378 hail reports within 10 miles of Lafayette since 1961, made on 140 separate days. Of these, 253 were 1 inch across or larger, and 19 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on June 18, 2018. The most recent report is from August 10, 2025. June has the most reports, 127.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Lafayette
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Northglenn, CO, 9 miles southeast of Lafayette at 5,407 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 59°F; December is the coolest, at 48°F and 19°F. Highs reach 90°F on about 53 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 149 nights a year. Snowfall averages 44.8 inches a year, most of it in March. That 14.5 inches is more than at 32 of the 91 Colorado stations used on this site (35%). Louisville, 4 miles southwest, has its own station (Boulder, CO): 21.3 inches a year, 6.8 more than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 91°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 48 | 19 | 0.5 | 2 | 6.0 |
| Feb | 50 | 20 | 0.5 | 2 | 7.6 |
| Mar | 58 | 28 | 1.2 | 3 | 8.2 |
| Apr | 64 | 35 | 1.9 | 5 | 6.5 |
| May | 72 | 44 | 2.4 | 6 | 1.2 |
| Jun | 85 | 53 | 1.5 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 91 | 59 | 1.7 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 89 | 57 | 1.3 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 82 | 49 | 1.2 | 3 | 0.1 |
| Oct | 67 | 37 | 1.1 | 3 | 2.4 |
| Nov | 56 | 27 | 0.7 | 2 | 6.9 |
| Dec | 48 | 19 | 0.5 | 2 | 5.9 |
| Year | 67 | 37 | 14.5 | 37 | 44.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Northglenn, CO (5,407 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 Lafayette
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 77 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lafayette: 52 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 flash floods, 7 floods, 7 lightning strikes and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 1 person and injured 10, and the NWS estimated $300.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on July 12, 1996. September has had the most flash floods, 7 of 10. Of the 144 Colorado cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 94 have had fewer than Lafayette.
September 11, 2013: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Lafayette — 1 killed.
August 10, 1996: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Lafayette — 5 injured.
September 12, 2013: flood 6 miles from the centre of Lafayette — 3 injured, $297.3 million 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Lafayette's ZIP code 80026 have filed 12 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1995, and were paid $14,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 58% 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, 5 have fewer than Lafayette.
Boulder County, which includes Lafayette, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 fires, 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Wildfires and Straight-Line Winds, on December 31, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Boulder 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 $125.3 million a year, the 7th highest of 64 Colorado counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $69.1 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.