NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Westminster, 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 Westminster, Colorado since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 207 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 207
- 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 Westminster
The highest rating among the 207 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on June 15, 1988, came within 11 miles. Of the 207, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 49 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 96. The most recent tornado was on July 14, 2025. Westminster has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 86% of the 157 Colorado cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 466 times since 1955, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Westminster has more hail reports within 10 miles than 91% of the 157 Colorado cities.
Compare Westminster's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Westminster
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s17
- 2000s21
- 1990s54
- 1980s64(1 EF3+)
- 1970s19(1 EF3+)
- 1960s15
- 1950s6
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 15, 1988 | F3 | 11 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 18, 1975 | F3 | 17 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 2021 | EF2 | 20 mi | 7.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1988 | F2 | 11 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1988 | F2 | 6 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1988 | F2 | 9 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 2, 1987 | F2 | 16 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 1987 | F2 | 23 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 8, 1986 | F2 | 23 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 8, 1986 | F2 | 13 mi | 1.1 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jun 3, 1981 | F2 | 3 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 42 |
| Jun 3, 1981 | F2 | 10 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 207, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Westminster
The Storm Prediction Center has 466 hail reports within 10 miles of Westminster since 1955, made on 154 separate days. Of these, 328 were 1 inch across or larger, and 28 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3 inches (tea cup size), was reported on 2 days, most recently June 18, 2018. The most recent report is from July 11, 2025. June has the most reports, 170.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Westminster
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Northglenn, CO, 2 miles northeast of Westminster at 5,407 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 59°F; December is the coolest, at 48°F and 19°F. Highs reach 90°F on about 53 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 149 nights a year. Snowfall averages 44.8 inches a year, most of it in March. That 14.5 inches is more than at 32 of the 91 Colorado stations used on this site (35%). Arvada, 6 miles southwest, has its own station (Wheat Ridge 2, CO): 17.1 inches a year, 2.6 more than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 91°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 48 | 19 | 0.5 | 2 | 6.0 |
| Feb | 50 | 20 | 0.5 | 2 | 7.6 |
| Mar | 58 | 28 | 1.2 | 3 | 8.2 |
| Apr | 64 | 35 | 1.9 | 5 | 6.5 |
| May | 72 | 44 | 2.4 | 6 | 1.2 |
| Jun | 85 | 53 | 1.5 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 91 | 59 | 1.7 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 89 | 57 | 1.3 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 82 | 49 | 1.2 | 3 | 0.1 |
| Oct | 67 | 37 | 1.1 | 3 | 2.4 |
| Nov | 56 | 27 | 0.7 | 2 | 6.9 |
| Dec | 48 | 19 | 0.5 | 2 | 5.9 |
| Year | 67 | 37 | 14.5 | 37 | 44.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Northglenn, CO (5,407 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 Westminster
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 96 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Westminster: 60 thunderstorm wind reports, 22 flash floods, 9 lightning strikes and 5 floods. They killed 1 person and injured 11, and the NWS estimated $302.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on July 12, 1996. September has had the most flash floods, 9 of 22. Of the 144 Colorado cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 127 have had fewer than Westminster.
July 19, 2016: lightning strike 6 miles from the centre of Westminster — 1 killed, 1 injured.
August 10, 1996: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Westminster — 5 injured.
September 12, 2013: flood 7 miles from the centre of Westminster — 3 injured, $297.3 million damage.
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 Westminster's 3 ZIP codes have filed 37 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $264,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 5% 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, 31 have fewer than Westminster.
Adams County, which includes Westminster, has been named in 12 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms, 1 coastal storm). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 28, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Adams County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for hail and lightning; Relatively High for tornadoes 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 $130.9 million a year, the 5th highest of 64 Colorado counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $44.5 million (34%), is from hail.
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.