Bent County, Colorado severe weather history spans 290 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 58.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,832 nationally and #27 in Colorado.
290
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
9
Direct injuries
$8.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Bent County, Colorado severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Bent County, Colorado severe weather history averages 4.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 84 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 40 events fall before 1990 and 250 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Bent County, Colorado record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is hail, with $6.2M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Bent County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 170 | 0 | $6.2M | 4.5 | 1958–2025 |
| Tornado | 50 | 0 | $1.4M | F2 | 1956–2022 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 48 | 1 | $341K | 100 | 1962–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 12 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2022 |
| Flood | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2014–2014 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2022–2022 |
Decade by decade
Bent County, Colorado severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
55 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 54 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-04-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-06-16 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-05-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-06-29 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-07-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-06-20 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-10-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-10-11 | EF1 | 0 | 6 | 15.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-06-25 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-05-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Bent County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | MC CLAVE | 1 | 1 | $80K |
| Oct 12, 1997 | Tornado | LAS ANIMAS | 0 | 6 | $200K |
| Jun 20, 2004 | Tornado | LAS ANIMAS | 0 | 1 | $1.0M |
| Jun 16, 2004 | Tornado | LAS ANIMAS | 0 | 1 | $100K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A damaging microburst wind, estimated to be at least 115 mph in strength struck a mobile home, rolling it a few hundred yards. The intense damage was 50 to 75 yards across. Twin brothers, Dan and Denton Cochell were in the mobile home. Dan was thrown from the mobile home and sustained a broken eye socket. Denton was rolled inside the mobile home, sustaining numerous injuries to his body, neck, and head. He died six days later.
A slow moving very severe thunderstorm brought very heavy rain, causing flooding, and hail around baseball size to the Ft. Lyon area for nearly an hour. Highway 50 was under water for over an hour near Ft. Lyon. Many residences experienced basement flooding. The large hail broken out windows and destroyed roofs on houses. Many vehicles also sustained major damage. The VA Medical Center's tile roof was completely destroyed, along with many windows. The grounds also sustained major damage. In addition, crops were totally destroyed in the area. Damage estimates were still preliminary at the time of submission.
A tornado caused severe damage to at least seven buildings at Mountain Prairie Hog Farms. Seven farrowing barns (380 feet x 60 feet) were destroyed. Only one pig was killed. A fire started in one of the structures when a gas line broke. Debris was scattered a few miles east southeast of the Farms.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
5,549
Population (ACS)
$147K
Median home value
9
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 28, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jan 7, 2007 | Snowstorm | SNOW | EM |
| Sep 5, 2005 | Coastal Storm | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
| Jun 19, 2002 | Fire | WILDFIRES | DR |
| May 17, 2001 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Las Animas 152
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Bent County, Colorado?
290 events are on record between 1956 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $8.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Bent County?
Hail, with 170 recorded events — 58.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Bent County?
55 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 54 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Bent County?
9 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Bent County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Bent County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Bent County as very low risk, placing it in the 6 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Bent County, Colorado severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Baca County 621
- Boulder County 513
- Broomfield County 48
- Archuleta County 74
- Chaffee County 48
- Arapahoe County 913
Cite this page
“Bent County, Colorado.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/colorado/bent-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.