NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Wellington, 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 Wellington, Colorado since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 101 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 101
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Wellington
The highest rating among the 101 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 22, 2008, came within 6 miles. Of the 101, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 28 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 33. The most recent tornado was on July 31, 2023. Wellington has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 56% of the 157 Colorado cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 94 times since 1973, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Of the 157 Colorado cities, 52% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Wellington.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Wellington
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s9
- 2000s15(1 EF3+)
- 1990s29
- 1980s23
- 1970s8
- 1960s4(1 EF3+)
- 1950s9
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 22, 2008 | EF3 | 6 mi | 38.69 mi | 1 / 78 |
| Apr 23, 1960 | F3 | 17 mi | 17.2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 22, 2008 | EF2 | 21 mi | 25.13 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 9, 1990 | F2 | 4 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 4, 1976 | F2 | 13 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 1965 | F2 | 13 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 1957 | F2 | 19 mi | 1.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 30, 1957 | F2 | 18 mi | 9.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 10, 1955 | F2 | 19 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 9, 1990 | F1 | 3 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1988 | F1 | 6 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 7, 1987 | F1 | 6 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 101, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Wellington
The Storm Prediction Center has 94 hail reports within 10 miles of Wellington since 1973, made on 57 separate days. Of these, 79 were 1 inch across or larger, and 14 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on August 3, 2013. The most recent report is from June 17, 2025. June has the most reports, 36.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Wellington
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Fort Collins 4 E, CO, 13 miles south of Wellington at 4,920 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 58°F; December is the coolest, at 42°F and 16°F. Highs reach 90°F on about 32 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 166 nights a year. Snowfall averages 48.4 inches a year, most of it in March. That 14.8 inches is more than at 36 of the 91 Colorado stations used on this site (40%). Laporte, 11 miles southwest, has its own station (Buckhorn Mountain 1 E, CO): 21.4 inches a year, 6.6 more than here, and a July average high of 79°F against 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43 | 15 | 0.4 | 1 | 6.6 |
| Feb | 45 | 18 | 0.4 | 2 | 7.0 |
| Mar | 55 | 26 | 1.1 | 3 | 8.2 |
| Apr | 61 | 34 | 2.0 | 4 | 5.7 |
| May | 70 | 43 | 2.5 | 6 | 1.8 |
| Jun | 81 | 52 | 1.8 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 88 | 58 | 1.6 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 55 | 1.3 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 47 | 1.4 | 3 | 0.6 |
| Oct | 63 | 34 | 1.2 | 3 | 4.0 |
| Nov | 51 | 24 | 0.7 | 2 | 7.6 |
| Dec | 42 | 16 | 0.4 | 1 | 6.9 |
| Year | 63 | 35 | 14.8 | 35 | 48.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Fort Collins 4 E, CO (4,920 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 Wellington
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 14 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Wellington: 13 thunderstorm wind reports and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 9. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 87 mph, on May 22, 2008.
July 18, 2013: lightning strike 4 miles from the centre of Wellington — 9 injured.
NWS: “Lightning injured nine migrant workers.”
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 Wellington's ZIP code 80549 have filed 12 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $48,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 8% 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, 5 have fewer than Wellington.
Larimer County, which includes Wellington, has been named in 30 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 15 fires, 7 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Wildfires, on January 15, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Larimer County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for lightning; Relatively High for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding; Relatively Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $126.5 million a year, the 6th highest of 64 Colorado counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $54.3 million (43%), 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 Wellington
- Laporte, CO11 mi
- Fort Collins, CO15 mi
- Timnath, CO16 mi
- Windsor, CO20 mi
- Ault, CO21 mi
- Livermore, CO22 mi
- Eaton, CO23 mi
- Loveland, CO25 mi
- Greeley, CO28 mi
- Johnstown, CO30 mi
- Cheyenne, WY30 mi
- Milliken, CO31 mi
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