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Storms That Hit

NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Littleton, 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 Littleton, Colorado since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 148 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
0

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
148

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
2

no recorded deaths

What the records show for Littleton

The highest rating among the 148 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on June 15, 1988, came within 12 miles. Of the 148, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 32 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 60. The most recent tornado was on July 14, 2025. Littleton has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 69% of the 157 Colorado cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 385 times since 1958, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Littleton has more hail reports within 10 miles than 86% of the 157 Colorado cities.

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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Littleton

By decade

  • 2020s7
  • 2010s13
  • 2000s12
  • 1990s25
  • 1980s46(1 EF3+)
  • 1970s21(1 EF3+)
  • 1960s22
  • 1950s2
Strongest tornadoes near Littleton, Colorado
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jun 15, 1988F312 mi2.5 mi0 / 7
May 18, 1975F323 mi4.1 mi0 / 0
May 18, 2025EF223 mi0.94 mi0 / 0
Jun 15, 1988F212 mi0.5 mi0 / 0
Jun 5, 1988F225 mi0.5 mi0 / 0
Jun 8, 1986F212 mi1.1 mi0 / 6
Jul 19, 1985F211 mi0.5 mi0 / 0
Jun 3, 1981F220 mi2.3 mi0 / 42
Jun 3, 1981F29 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
May 17, 1978F217 mi0.5 mi0 / 0
May 30, 1976F217 mi5.4 mi0 / 0
May 20, 1961F216 mi2 mi0 / 2

The strongest 12 of 148, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Littleton

The Storm Prediction Center has 385 hail reports within 10 miles of Littleton since 1958, made on 156 separate days. Of these, 280 were 1 inch across or larger, and 18 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on June 19, 2018. The most recent report is from June 17, 2025. June has the most reports, 163.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Radar-estimated hail days in Littleton since 2019 →

Weather by month in Littleton

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Marston Fltr Plt, CO, 2 miles north of Littleton at 5,610 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 46°F and 19°F. May is the wettest at 2.7 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.5 inches; the year adds up to 16.7 inches over 40 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 33 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 147 nights a year. Snowfall averages 34.1 inches a year, most of it in January. That 16.7 inches is more than at 56 of the 91 Colorado stations used on this site (62%). Highlands Ranch, 6 miles southeast, has its own station (Denver Centennial Airport, CO): 15.0 inches a year, 1.7 less than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 86°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Marston Fltr Plt, CO
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Snow in
Jan46190.526.3
Feb47200.726.2
Mar55281.235.4
Apr60352.144.1
May69442.760.8
Jun81531.940.0
Jul86602.150.0
Aug85581.940.0
Sep77491.330.0
Oct64371.031.7
Nov53280.723.7
Dec45200.625.9
Year643716.74034.1

Averages for 1991–2020 at Marston Fltr Plt, CO (5,610 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 Littleton

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 66 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Littleton: 41 thunderstorm wind reports, 11 lightning strikes, 9 flash floods, 3 floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 2 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $9.2 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, 3 of 9. Of the 144 Colorado cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 86 have had fewer than Littleton.

  • July 24, 2018: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Littleton — 1 killed, $500,000 damage.

  • July 27, 2007: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Littleton — 1 killed, $5,000 damage.

  • July 8, 2001: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Littleton — 1 injured.

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 Littleton's 6 ZIP codes have filed 76 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $374,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2023, with 13. 1% 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, 40 have fewer than Littleton.

Jefferson County, which includes Littleton, 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 Littleton

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