Jefferson County, Colorado severe weather history spans 657 recorded events between 1960 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 77.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #459 nationally and #16 in Colorado.
657
Recorded events
7
Direct deaths
163
Direct injuries
$2.8B
Property damage
The record
What the Jefferson County, Colorado severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Jefferson County, Colorado severe weather history averages 10.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 178 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 105 events fall before 1990 and 552 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Jefferson County, Colorado record is flash flood, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is hail, with $2.7B 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 Jefferson County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 506 | 0 | $2.7B | 3 | 1960–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 54 | 1 | $0 | 84 | 1978–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 35 | 3 | $128.9M | 75 | 1996–2023 |
| Lightning | 34 | 3 | $1.5M | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Tornado | 13 | 0 | $2.5M | F2 | 1965–1996 |
| Flood | 9 | 0 | $6.1M | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Wildfire | 2 | 0 | $14.2M | 0 | 2000–2002 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–1996 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2009 |
| Dust Devil | 1 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 2016–2016 |
Decade by decade
Jefferson County, Colorado severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
9 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 9 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987-06-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1987-06-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-07-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-07-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-07-28 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-06-06 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-07-11 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-07-03 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-06-10 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Jefferson County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 13, 1996 | Flash Flood | BUFFALO CREEK | 2 | 0 | $520K |
| May 29, 2004 | Lightning | LAKEWOOD | 1 | 4 | $0 |
| Jul 19, 2016 | Lightning | ARVADA | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 21, 2019 | Flash Flood | LAKEWOOD | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 28, 2007 | Lightning | MORRISON | 1 | 0 | $5K |
| Jun 9, 1987 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 0 | $0 | |
| Jun 22, 2023 | Hail | IDLEDALE | 0 | 90 | $0 |
| Jul 11, 1990 | Hail | 0 | 47 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A woman was swept away in flash flooding. Rescue crews searched Lakewood Gulch, after the report of a person in the water near West 12th Avenue and Miller Street. Her body was found in 10 ft of water the following day along Lakewood Gulch near West 12th Avenue and Lee Street.
A father and son practicing on the driving range at the Meadows Golf Club were were struck by lightning. The father was killed by the bolt and his 16-yr old was son seriously injured. Three others standing nearby received only minor injuries.
Large hail, strong winds and torrential rain hammered portions of Lakewood and South Denver. Nearly 1 inch of rain fell in the span of 10 minutes in South Denver with a storm total of 1.81 inches reported. Street flooding was extensive as gutters and other drainage systems in the area were clogged by hail, piled several inches deep, as well as other debris. In addition, extensive damage to cars, homes and businesses was reported as strong thunderstorm winds to 50 mph and large hail accompanied the heavy rain. Several trees were downed by the strong winds and trees stripped of their leaves by the hail. A water lily exhibition on display at the Denver Botanic Gardens was heavily damaged. Final estimates of the damage included $60 million to automobiles with another $68 million to homes and businesses.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
579,377
Population (ACS)
$638K
Median home value
15
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 1, 2024 | Fire | QUARRY FIRE | FM |
| 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 |
| Sep 14, 2013 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Sep 12, 2013 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Jefferson County, Colorado?
657 events are on record between 1960 and 2025, causing 7 direct deaths and $2.8B in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Jefferson County?
Hail, with 506 recorded events — 77.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Jefferson County?
9 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 9 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Jefferson County?
15 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Jefferson County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Jefferson County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Jefferson County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 95 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Jefferson 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
- Jackson County 11
- Kiowa County 500
- Huerfano County 193
- Kit Carson County 1,324
- Hinsdale County 16
- Lake County 8
Cite this page
“Jefferson County, Colorado.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/colorado/jefferson-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.