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Special Weather Statement
Roan and Tavaputs Plateaus; Grand Valley; Uncompahgre Plateau/Dallas Divide; Arches/Grand Flat
Rio Blanco County, Colorado severe weather history spans 172 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 25.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,597 nationally and #32 in Colorado.
172
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
10
Direct injuries
$1.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Rio Blanco County, Colorado severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Rio Blanco County, Colorado severe weather history averages 2.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 68 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 2 events fall before 1990 and 170 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Rio Blanco County, Colorado record is lightning, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is hail, with $1.0M 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 Rio Blanco County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 43 | 0 | $256K | 80 | 1994–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 31 | 0 | $333K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Wildfire | 30 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2003 |
| Debris Flow | 25 | 0 | $62K | 0 | 2013–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 14 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2017 |
| Hail | 11 | 0 | $1.0M | 4 | 1984–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 7 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2017 |
| Flood | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2010 |
| Tornado | 3 | 0 | $38K | F1 | 1957–2013 |
| Lightning | 2 | 1 | $250 | 0 | 1998–2009 |
Decade by decade
Rio Blanco County, Colorado severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
3 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-06-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-07-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-05-29 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Rio Blanco County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 14, 1998 | Lightning | MEEKER | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 25, 2005 | Flash Flood | RIO BLANCO | 0 | 5 | $80K |
| Jun 1, 2009 | Lightning | RANGELY ARPT | 0 | 4 | $250 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Rally car racers encountered flooding along County Road 73 near Hall Draw when their vehicle stalled. Drivers escaped the vehicle before it was swept downstream toward the White River. The vehicle was later found approximately 1 mile downstream from where it got swept off the road.
Law Enforcement reported water and debris clogging a culvert at Mile Marker 1.3 on Rio Blanco County Route 33. The road was considered impassable and required clearing. Clean up crews responded to the area at 9AM the following day (September 23rd, 2025), with the road cleared by the end of the day. This area is adjacent to the Lee Burn Scar.
Public reported mudslides near the intersection of Rio Blanco County Route 5 and Rio Blanco County Route 76. LSR reads Debris flow and flooding of Piceance Creek at County Road 76 and County Road 5. This area is within the Lee Burn Scar. Road had to be cleared.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
6,544
Population (ACS)
$274K
Median home value
7
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 6, 2025 | Fire | LEE FIRE | FM |
| Aug 6, 2025 | Fire | ELK FIRE | FM |
| Mar 28, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Sep 5, 2005 | Coastal Storm | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
| Jun 19, 2002 | Fire | WILDFIRES | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Meeker 117
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Rio Blanco County, Colorado?
172 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $1.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Rio Blanco County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 43 recorded events — 25.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Rio Blanco County?
3 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 3 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Rio Blanco County?
7 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Rio Blanco County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Rio Blanco County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Rio Blanco County as very low risk, placing it in the 38 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Rio Blanco 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
- Pueblo County 954
- Rio Grande County 35
- Prowers County 688
- Routt County 101
- Pitkin County 78
- Saguache County 64
Cite this page
“Rio Blanco County, Colorado.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/colorado/rio-blanco-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.