Skip to content
Storms That Hit

NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Salida, 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 Salida, Colorado since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 2 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
0

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
2

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
0

no recorded deaths

What the records show for Salida

The strongest of the 2 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F0 on May 5, 1991; its path came within 2 miles. The most recent tornado was on June 9, 2024. Of the 157 Colorado cities on this site, 87% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Salida. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 6 times since 2006, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 157 Colorado cities, 75% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Salida.

Compare Salida's storm record with another city →

ShareXFacebookWhatsAppEmail

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Salida

By decade

  • 2020s1
  • 1990s1
Strongest tornadoes near Salida, Colorado
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
May 5, 1991F02 mi0.2 mi0 / 0
Jun 9, 2024Unrated24 mi0.5 mi0 / 0

The strongest 2 of 2, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Salida

The Storm Prediction Center has 6 hail reports within 10 miles of Salida since 2006, made on 4 separate days. Of these, 4 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on June 5, 2016, the most recent report.

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

Weather by month in Salida

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Salida, CO, 1 mile east of Salida at 7,160 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 49°F; January is the coolest, at 43°F and 12°F. Highs reach 90°F on about 15 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 201 nights a year. Snowfall averages 36.7 inches a year, most of it in April. That 9.1 inches is more than at 5 of the 91 Colorado stations used on this site (5%). Buena Vista, 24 miles north, has its own station (Buena Vista 2S, CO): 9.8 inches a year, 0.7 more than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 86°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Salida, CO
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Snow in
Jan43120.314.0
Feb46150.314.1
Mar54210.726.5
Apr60281.138.0
May70351.022.7
Jun82430.520.0
Jul86491.440.0
Aug83471.550.0
Sep77390.720.0
Oct65290.932.6
Nov53200.314.1
Dec43130.414.7
Year64299.12736.7

Averages for 1991–2020 at Salida, CO (7,160 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 Salida

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 10 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Salida: 8 flash floods and 2 thunderstorm wind reports. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 59 mph, on May 29, 2022. Of the 144 Colorado cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 83 have had fewer than Salida.

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

Chaffee County, which includes Salida, has been named in 5 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 2002, 2 of them major disasters (by incident: 2 biological emergencies, 1 coastal storm, 1 fire, 1 snowstorm). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 28, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Chaffee County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Low for hail and inland flooding; Very Low for tornadoes, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $20.0 million a year, the 22nd highest of 64 Colorado counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $12.8 million (64%), 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 Salida

All Colorado cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Salida with another place →

ShareXFacebookWhatsAppEmail