NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Palmer Lake, 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 Palmer Lake, Colorado since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 103 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 103
- 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 Palmer Lake
The highest rating among the 103 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on June 24, 1979, came within 18 miles. Of the 103, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 37 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 46. The most recent tornado was on July 30, 2025. Palmer Lake has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 56% of the 157 Colorado cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 210 times since 1970, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Palmer Lake has more hail reports within 10 miles than 68% of the 157 Colorado cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Palmer Lake
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s13
- 2000s19
- 1990s22
- 1980s18
- 1970s15(2 EF3+)
- 1960s7
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 24, 1979 | F3 | 18 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 13, 1977 | F3 | 13 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 8, 2014 | EF2 | 23 mi | 6.96 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 2009 | EF2 | 17 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 4, 1983 | F2 | 23 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 1977 | F2 | 5 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 1977 | F2 | 9 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 20, 1961 | F2 | 20 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 30, 2025 | EF1 | 14 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 2025 | EF1 | 21 mi | 0.26 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 17, 2025 | EF1 | 16 mi | 0.43 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 20, 2023 | EF1 | 15 mi | 1.45 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 103, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Palmer Lake
The Storm Prediction Center has 210 hail reports within 10 miles of Palmer Lake since 1970, made on 124 separate days. Of these, 143 were 1 inch across or larger, and 10 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on June 13, 1992. The most recent report is from July 6, 2025. June has the most reports, 79.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Palmer Lake
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Monument, CO, 2 miles east of Palmer Lake at 7,080 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 54°F; January is the coolest, at 41°F and 16°F. April is the wettest at 3.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 22.6 inches over 59 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 7 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 184 nights a year. Snowfall averages 121.1 inches a year, most of it in March. That 22.6 inches is more than at 82 of the 91 Colorado stations used on this site (90%). Woodland Park, 12 miles southwest, has its own station (Ruxton Park, CO): 24.0 inches a year, 1.4 more than here, and a July average high of 74°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41 | 16 | 0.9 | 3 | 14.4 |
| Feb | 43 | 18 | 0.7 | 3 | 10.9 |
| Mar | 50 | 23 | 1.6 | 5 | 24.2 |
| Apr | 57 | 29 | 3.2 | 6 | 23.7 |
| May | 68 | 39 | 2.4 | 6 | 3.3 |
| Jun | 79 | 47 | 3.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 54 | 2.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 52 | 3.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 72 | 44 | 1.6 | 5 | 1.7 |
| Oct | 60 | 33 | 1.3 | 3 | 11.1 |
| Nov | 48 | 22 | 1.1 | 4 | 18.4 |
| Dec | 41 | 17 | 1.1 | 3 | 13.4 |
| Year | 60 | 33 | 22.6 | 59 | 121.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Monument, CO (7,080 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 Palmer Lake
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 61 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Palmer Lake: 37 heavy rain events, 14 thunderstorm wind reports, 9 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 74 mph, on June 19, 2000. Of the 144 Colorado cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 86 have had fewer than Palmer Lake.
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
El Paso County, which includes Palmer Lake, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 5 fires, 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 El Paso County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for lightning; Relatively High for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $212.6 million a year, the 3rd highest of 64 Colorado counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $105.2 million (49%), 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 Palmer Lake
- Monument, CO2 mi
- Larkspur, CO6 mi
- Usaf Academy, CO8 mi
- Woodland Park, CO12 mi
- Colorado Springs, CO16 mi
- Sedalia, CO18 mi
- Manitou Springs, CO18 mi
- Elbert, CO18 mi
- Franktown, CO19 mi
- Divide, CO20 mi
- Castle Rock, CO20 mi
- Peyton, CO22 mi
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