El Paso County, Colorado severe weather history spans 2,710 recorded events between 1951 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 70.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #4 nationally and #1 in Colorado.
2,710
Recorded events
12
Direct deaths
101
Direct injuries
$446.3M
Property damage
The record
What the El Paso County, Colorado severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, El Paso County, Colorado severe weather history averages 36.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 876 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 240 events fall before 1990 and 2,470 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the El Paso County, Colorado record is lightning, responsible for 6 direct deaths. The costliest is hail, with $376.9M in reported property damage. In total, 10 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in El Paso County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 1,911 | 0 | $376.9M | 4.5 | 1955–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 250 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2018–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 182 | 4 | $50.0M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 168 | 0 | $1.7M | 105 | 1965–2025 |
| Tornado | 97 | 0 | $9.7M | F3 | 1951–2023 |
| Lightning | 51 | 6 | $965K | 0 | 1996–2017 |
| Funnel Cloud | 26 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Flood | 19 | 2 | $7.0M | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Wildfire | 5 | 0 | $4K | 800 | 2000–2003 |
| Debris Flow | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2020–2020 |
Decade by decade
El Paso County, Colorado severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
94 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 89 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979-06-24 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 4.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-06-13 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 4.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-06-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2001-05-28 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-05-28 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-06-06 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-06-13 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-06-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-04-11 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-06-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in El Paso County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 21, 2005 | Flash Flood | COLORADO SPGS | 2 | 0 | $100K |
| Aug 9, 2013 | Flash Flood | CASCADE | 1 | 3 | $2.0M |
| Sep 3, 2007 | Lightning | COLORADO SPGS | 1 | 3 | $0 |
| May 30, 2001 | Lightning | FT CARSON | 1 | 3 | $0 |
| Sep 15, 2013 | Flash Flood | SECURITY | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 12, 2013 | Flood | COLORADO SPGS | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 6, 2003 | Lightning | MONUMENT | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 25, 2000 | Lightning | COLORADO SPGS | 1 | 0 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A severe thunderstorm moved south across the eastern side of Colorado Springs, causing copious amounts of hail and heavy rain. Two teenage boys were in a drainage culvert on Cottonwood Creek near Woodmen Road and Austin Bluffs Parkway, when the wave of water hit, and both drowned. Farther south, near the Citadel Mall, poor drainage caused a 3 to 4 foot deep lake to develop with massive amounts of hail pouring into the deep water. Several vehicles were stranded and dozens of rescues took place. Some motorists and passengers suffered minor hypothermia in the icy cold water. Still farther south, the pavement on a bridge on Airport Road over Spring Creek was damaged by high, fast moving water.
Severe straight-line thunderstorm winds in the range of 80 to 100 mph caused damage along and just west of the Ellicott Highway in eastern El Paso county from State Highway 94 to about 5 miles north of State Highway 94. Four mobile homes and five outbuildings were destroyed…and 5 houses and 11 outbuildings were damaged.
A tornado, moved just northeast of Meadowlake Airport to the northeast of Falcon, Colorado or 10 miles northeast of Colorado Springs. It damaged four houses and two horse barns. Some horses received minor injuries. An airplane, in a combination house-hangar, was damaged.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
742,999
Population (ACS)
$461K
Median home value
20
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 25, 2023 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| 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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Colorado Spgs 520
- Black Forest 264
- Peterson Afb 252
- Falcon 228
- Manitou Spgs 158
- Fountain 153
- Monument 129
- Ellicott 115
- Calhan 111
- Peyton 111
- Ft Carson 103
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in El Paso County, Colorado?
2,710 events are on record between 1951 and 2025, causing 12 direct deaths and $446.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in El Paso County?
Hail, with 1,911 recorded events — 70.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed El Paso County?
94 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 89 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover El Paso County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include El Paso County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is El Paso County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates El Paso County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 94 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the El Paso 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
- Elbert County 805
- Fremont County 203
- Eagle County 103
- Garfield County 229
- Douglas County 623
- Gilpin County 19
Cite this page
“El Paso County, Colorado.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/colorado/el-paso-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.