Denver County, Colorado severe weather history spans 535 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 63.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #767 nationally and #19 in Colorado.
535
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
53
Direct injuries
$193.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Denver County, Colorado severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Denver County, Colorado severe weather history averages 7.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 140 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 117 events fall before 1990 and 418 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Denver County, Colorado record is lightning, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is hail, with $156.5M 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 Denver County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 337 | 0 | $156.5M | 4.5 | 1955–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 124 | 0 | $40K | 84 | 1957–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 24 | 0 | $1.9M | 0 | 1997–2024 |
| Tornado | 19 | 0 | $32.6M | F3 | 1966–2022 |
| Lightning | 19 | 2 | $1.2M | 0 | 1997–2018 |
| Flood | 7 | 0 | $1.0M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 5 | 1 | $5K | 0 | 2007–2025 |
Decade by decade
Denver County, Colorado severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
27 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 26 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988-06-15 | EF3 | 0 | 7 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-05-18 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 4.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1988-06-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1987-07-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1986-06-08 | EF2 | 0 | 6 | 1.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-06-03 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-05-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-06-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-06-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-06-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Denver County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 2007 | Heavy Rain | DENVER | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 30, 1997 | Lightning | DENVER | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 7, 1997 | Lightning | DENVER | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 13, 1984 | Hail | 0 | 20 | $0 | |
| Jun 15, 1988 | Tornado | 0 | 7 | $25.0M | |
| Jun 8, 1986 | Tornado | 0 | 6 | $2.5M | |
| Mar 29, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | DENVER | 0 | 4 | $0 |
| Jun 6, 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | DENVER | 0 | 2 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Two plumbers were injured, one critically, when lightning struck a pipe they were working on in a building under construction. The bolt apparently hit one man in the hand, it then passed through his chest and struck the other worker. The critically injured man died a few days later.
Severe thunderstorms producing very large hail caused extensive damage across southern sections of the Denver metropolitan area. Parts of Aurora, Lakewood, Littleton and South Denver incurred much of the damage. The combined damage to homes and automobiles, not including commercial buildings, was estimated at $146.5 million, making it the 4th costliest insurance disaster in the state's history.
Large hail punched at least 14,000 holes and cracks in the flat roofs of several buildings at Denver International Airport. In addition, 93 planes and hundreds of cars were damaged. Approximately 100 flights were canceled, stranding 1500 travelers. The airport was completely shut down for appoximately 20 minutes. The storm also damaged a radar used to monitor planes on the ground to avoid runway collisions. No estimate for the damage done to the 93 airliners was released.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
718,877
Population (ACS)
$616K
Median home value
11
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 28, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jul 16, 2015 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Sep 14, 2013 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Sep 12, 2013 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | EM |
| Jan 7, 2007 | Snowstorm | SNOW | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Denver 269
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Denver County, Colorado?
535 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 3 direct deaths and $193.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Denver County?
Hail, with 337 recorded events — 63.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Denver County?
27 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 26 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Denver County?
11 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Denver County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Denver County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Denver County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 95 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Denver 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
- Delta County 70
- Dolores County 33
- Custer County 164
- Douglas County 623
- Crowley County 157
- Eagle County 103
Cite this page
“Denver County, Colorado.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/colorado/denver-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.