Prowers County, Colorado severe weather history spans 688 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 53.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #418 nationally and #15 in Colorado.
688
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
20
Direct injuries
$11.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Prowers County, Colorado severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Prowers County, Colorado severe weather history averages 10.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 173 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 77 events fall before 1990 and 611 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Prowers County, Colorado record is tornado, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $5.6M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Prowers County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 366 | 0 | $5.3M | 3.75 | 1958–2024 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 178 | 0 | $366K | 87 | 1957–2025 |
| Tornado | 88 | 2 | $5.6M | F3 | 1958–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 28 | 0 | $70K | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 11 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 11 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2020–2022 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2014 |
| Wildfire | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2003 |
| Lightning | 1 | 1 | $0 | 0 | 1998–1998 |
Decade by decade
Prowers County, Colorado severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
89 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 86 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-03-28 | EF3 | 2 | 9 | 28.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-06-23 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 13.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-05-29 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-04-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-04-27 | EF2 | 0 | 7 | 19.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-06-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-06-24 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-06-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-05-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-05-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Prowers County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 29, 2007 | Tornado | HOLLY | 2 | 9 | $4.0M |
| Sep 23, 1998 | Lightning | LAMAR | 1 | 3 | $0 |
| Apr 27, 2012 | Tornado | LAMAR | 0 | 7 | $500K |
| Jun 25, 1968 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This long-track tornado began southeast of Lamar and damaged an electrical substation along county road EE. A power outage in the Lamar area lasted for over 12 hours. Two communication towers were downed…and four dwellings were destroyed.
Thunderstorms spawned six brief tornadoes and an F3 tornado within a three mile radius of the Lamar Municipal Airport between 1049 MST and 1231 MST just west of Lamar. The F3 tornado, which showed supercellular characteristics, completely destroyed a modular home and five vehicles in its vicinity, and damaged two other homes nearby. Eleven power poles were destroyed as well.
South of Holly, a powerful microburst flipped over five center pivot irrigation systems both west and east of Highway 89. Two grain bins were destroyed and one severely damaged. Several vehicles at houses just north of the grain bins had their windows blown out, and a camper trailer was toppled on its side. Twenty power poles had to be replaced along County Road DD west of Highway 89 around a mile south of Holly.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
11,910
Population (ACS)
$161K
Median home value
9
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 |
| Jan 7, 2007 | Snowstorm | SNOW | EM |
| Sep 5, 2005 | Coastal Storm | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
| May 17, 2001 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Lamar 237
- Holly 104
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Prowers County, Colorado?
688 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 3 direct deaths and $11.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Prowers County?
Hail, with 366 recorded events — 53.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Prowers County?
89 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 86 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Prowers County?
9 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Prowers County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Prowers County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Prowers County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 49 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Prowers 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
- Pitkin County 78
- Pueblo County 954
- Phillips County 405
- Rio Blanco County 172
- Park County 72
- Rio Grande County 35
Cite this page
“Prowers County, Colorado.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/colorado/prowers-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.