NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Pagosa Springs, 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 Pagosa Springs, Colorado since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 1 tornado has touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 1
- 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 Pagosa Springs
The only tornado within 25 miles was an F0 on April 25, 1999; its path came within 5 miles. Of the 157 Colorado cities on this site, 95% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Pagosa Springs. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 5 times since 1999, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 157 Colorado cities, 77% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Pagosa Springs.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Pagosa Springs
By decade
- 1990s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 25, 1999 | F0 | 5 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 1 of 1, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Pagosa Springs
The Storm Prediction Center has 5 hail reports within 10 miles of Pagosa Springs since 1999. Of these, 3 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on September 29, 2014. The most recent report is from August 20, 2016.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Pagosa Springs
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Dulce, NM, 22 miles south of Pagosa Springs at 6,793 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 50°F; January is the coolest, at 44°F and 10°F. August is the wettest at 2.4 inches of precipitation on average and June the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 17.5 inches over 48 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 23 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 217 nights a year. Snowfall averages 55.7 inches a year, most of it in January and December. That 17.5 inches is more than at 62 of the 91 Colorado stations used on this site (68%). Bayfield, 27 miles west, has its own station (Vallecito Dam, CO): 25.8 inches a year, 8.3 more than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 10 | 1.5 | 4 | 13.4 |
| Feb | 48 | 16 | 1.4 | 4 | 12.8 |
| Mar | 57 | 22 | 1.1 | 3 | 6.3 |
| Apr | 64 | 28 | 1.2 | 3 | 2.7 |
| May | 74 | 34 | 1.1 | 3 | 0.4 |
| Jun | 84 | 41 | 0.7 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 88 | 50 | 2.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 49 | 2.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 41 | 1.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 68 | 29 | 1.5 | 4 | 1.0 |
| Nov | 54 | 20 | 1.3 | 4 | 5.7 |
| Dec | 44 | 12 | 1.5 | 4 | 13.4 |
| Year | 66 | 29 | 17.5 | 48 | 55.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Dulce, NM (6,793 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 Pagosa Springs
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 19 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Pagosa Springs: 7 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 floods, 3 heavy rain events, 2 flash floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $395,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on September 29, 2014.
April 28, 1997: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Pagosa Springs — 1 killed, 1 injured, $5,000 damage.
July 15, 2014: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Pagosa Springs — $250,000 damage.
NWS: “Heavy rainfall resulted in flash flooding within various locations in and near Pagosa Springs. Flowing water about 18 inches deep ran across Highway 160 about a half mile east of the junction with Highway 84.”
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 Pagosa Springs's ZIP code 81147 have filed 10 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1998, and were paid $123,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 56 Colorado cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 0 have fewer than Pagosa Springs.
Archuleta County, which includes Pagosa Springs, has been named in 8 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1970, 4 of them major disasters (by incident: 2 biological emergencies, 2 fires, 2 floods, 1 coastal storm). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 28, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Archuleta County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate 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 $8.3 million a year, the 40th highest of 64 Colorado counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.2 million (63%), 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 Pagosa Springs
- Bayfield, CO27 mi
- Dulce, NM30 mi
- Ignacio, CO31 mi
- Durango, CO38 mi
- Del Norte, CO52 mi
- Aztec, NM55 mi
- Monte Vista, CO58 mi
- Hesperus, CO58 mi
- Flora Vista, NM62 mi
- Bloomfield, NM62 mi
- Mancos, CO66 mi
- Center, CO67 mi
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