NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sterling, 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 Sterling, Colorado since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 110 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 110
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Sterling
The strongest of the 110 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on August 15, 1974; its path came within 4 miles. Of the 110, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 53 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 44. The most recent tornado was on July 11, 2025. Sterling has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 58% of the 157 Colorado cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 144 times since 1960, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Sterling has more hail reports within 10 miles than 55% of the 157 Colorado cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Sterling
By decade
- 2020s16
- 2010s12
- 2000s25
- 1990s19
- 1980s15
- 1970s14(1 EF3+)
- 1960s5
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 15, 1974 | F3 | 4 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 23, 2025 | EF2 | 18 mi | 8.36 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 19, 2024 | EF2 | 17 mi | 1.57 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 11, 2019 | EF2 | 15 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 11, 2019 | EF2 | 13 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 13, 1996 | F2 | 24 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 1988 | F2 | 22 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 18, 1986 | F2 | 17 mi | 25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 1960 | F2 | 24 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 23, 2025 | EF1 | 15 mi | 11.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 2023 | EF1 | 13 mi | 0.08 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 23, 2021 | EF1 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 110, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Sterling
The Storm Prediction Center has 144 hail reports within 10 miles of Sterling since 1960, made on 83 separate days. Of these, 123 were 1 inch across or larger, and 19 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on August 8, 2023. The most recent report is from June 2, 2025. June has the most reports, 55.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sterling
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Sterling, CO, in Sterling at 3,974 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 62°F; December is the coolest, at 42°F and 16°F. July is the wettest at 2.7 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.3 inches; the year adds up to 15.2 inches over 36 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 56 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 164 nights a year. That 15.2 inches is more than at 43 of the 91 Colorado stations used on this site (47%). Brush, 35 miles southwest, has its own station (Woodrow 6NNE, CO): 16.0 inches a year, 0.8 more than here, and the same July average high, 91°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42 | 16 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Feb | 46 | 19 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Mar | 57 | 27 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Apr | 64 | 35 | 1.3 | 3 |
| May | 73 | 46 | 2.2 | 5 |
| Jun | 85 | 57 | 2.2 | 5 |
| Jul | 91 | 62 | 2.7 | 5 |
| Aug | 89 | 60 | 1.5 | 5 |
| Sep | 81 | 49 | 1.6 | 3 |
| Oct | 66 | 35 | 1.2 | 3 |
| Nov | 53 | 24 | 0.5 | 2 |
| Dec | 42 | 16 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Year | 66 | 37 | 15.2 | 36 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Sterling, CO (3,974 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 Sterling
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 61 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sterling: 56 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 flash floods and 1 flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $355,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 93 mph, on August 29, 1996.
May 24, 2015: flood 8 miles from the centre of Sterling — $150,000 damage.
NWS: “Heavy rain produced more flooding north of Sterling. Evacuations were ordered for Globe Meadows and areas between Globe Street and Pioneer Road due to ditch flooding west of a trailer park.”
June 21, 2023: flash flood 10 miles from the centre of Sterling — $125,000 damage.
NWS: “A combination of torrential rain and hail caused flash flooding. Multiple road closures were in effect due to washed out county roads, including County Road 17 south of CO 14.”
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 Sterling's ZIP code 80751 have filed 65 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $783,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 17 claims (26% of all) and $103,000, then Late summer storms in 2013 with 11. 43% 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, 39 have fewer than Sterling.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 17 | $103,000 |
| Late summer storms2013 | 11 | $641,000 |
Logan County, which includes Sterling, has been named in 12 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 coastal storm, 1 severe storm). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes, on August 25, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Logan County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for hail and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes; Relatively Low for inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $18.0 million a year, the 23rd highest of 64 Colorado counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.3 million (29%), 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 Sterling
- Brush, CO35 mi
- Akron, CO35 mi
- Sidney, NE38 mi
- Fort Morgan, CO42 mi
- Yuma, CO42 mi
- Holyoke, CO48 mi
- Kimball, NE48 mi
- Wiggins, CO54 mi
- Wray, CO66 mi
- Kersey, CO71 mi
- Ault, CO76 mi
- Keenesburg, CO78 mi
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