NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lakewood, 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 Lakewood, Colorado since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 147 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 147
- 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 Lakewood
The highest rating among the 147 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on June 15, 1988, came within 9 miles. Of the 147, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 28 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 66. The most recent tornado was on July 6, 2023. Lakewood has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 68% of the 157 Colorado cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 666 times since 1956, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Lakewood has more hail reports within 10 miles than 96% of the 157 Colorado cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Lakewood
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s9
- 2000s13
- 1990s29
- 1980s47(1 EF3+)
- 1970s21(1 EF3+)
- 1960s19
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 15, 1988 | F3 | 9 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 18, 1975 | F3 | 21 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1988 | F2 | 9 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1988 | F2 | 17 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1988 | F2 | 22 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 2, 1987 | F2 | 23 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 8, 1986 | F2 | 11 mi | 1.1 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jul 19, 1985 | F2 | 17 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 3, 1981 | F2 | 13 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 42 |
| Jun 3, 1981 | F2 | 3 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 15, 1980 | F2 | 23 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 17, 1978 | F2 | 19 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 147, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Lakewood
The Storm Prediction Center has 666 hail reports within 10 miles of Lakewood since 1956, made on 223 separate days. Of these, 483 were 1 inch across or larger, and 31 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on August 5, 1983. The most recent report is from July 6, 2025. June has the most reports, 284.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Lakewood
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lakewood, CO, 4 miles north of Lakewood at 5,640 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 60°F; December is the coolest, at 45°F and 20°F. May is the wettest at 2.6 inches of precipitation on average and December the driest at 0.5 inches; the year adds up to 17.5 inches over 43 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 31 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 154 nights a year. Snowfall averages 58.0 inches a year, most of it in March and November. That 17.5 inches is more than at 62 of the 91 Colorado stations used on this site (68%). Wheat Ridge, 5 miles north, has its own station (Wheat Ridge 2, CO): 17.1 inches a year, 0.4 less than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 45 | 21 | 0.6 | 2 | 8.0 |
| Feb | 45 | 22 | 0.8 | 3 | 8.6 |
| Mar | 53 | 29 | 1.3 | 4 | 9.2 |
| Apr | 59 | 35 | 2.4 | 5 | 9.1 |
| May | 68 | 44 | 2.6 | 6 | 1.7 |
| Jun | 80 | 54 | 2.1 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 60 | 2.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 58 | 1.9 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 49 | 1.4 | 4 | 0.3 |
| Oct | 63 | 37 | 1.1 | 3 | 5.2 |
| Nov | 52 | 28 | 0.8 | 3 | 9.2 |
| Dec | 45 | 20 | 0.5 | 2 | 6.7 |
| Year | 63 | 38 | 17.5 | 43 | 58.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lakewood, CO (5,640 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 Lakewood
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 108 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lakewood: 65 thunderstorm wind reports, 19 lightning strikes, 17 flash floods, 4 heavy rain events and 3 floods. They killed 6 people and injured 11, and the NWS estimated $10.9 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, 8 of 17. Of the 144 Colorado cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 120 have had fewer than Lakewood.
May 14, 2007: heavy rain event 9 miles from the centre of Lakewood — 1 killed, 1 injured.
July 19, 2016: lightning strike 7 miles from the centre of Lakewood — 1 killed, 1 injured.
July 24, 2018: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Lakewood — 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Lakewood's 6 ZIP codes have filed 200 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $723,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1984, with 18. 3% 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, 52 have fewer than Lakewood.
Jefferson County, which includes Lakewood, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 fires, 5 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 Jefferson County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for hail and lightning; Relatively High for tornadoes, inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $231.4 million a year, the highest of 64 Colorado counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $77.4 million (33%), 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 Lakewood
- Wheat Ridge, CO5 mi
- Morrison, CO7 mi
- Englewood, CO8 mi
- Littleton, CO8 mi
- Arvada, CO8 mi
- Golden, CO9 mi
- Denver, CO9 mi
- Westminster, CO13 mi
- Centennial, CO13 mi
- Highlands Ranch, CO13 mi
- Greenwood Village, CO13 mi
- Commerce City, CO14 mi
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