Adams County, Colorado severe weather history spans 862 recorded events between 1953 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 56.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #231 nationally and #9 in Colorado.
862
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
62
Direct injuries
$469.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Adams County, Colorado severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Adams County, Colorado severe weather history averages 12.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 193 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 180 events fall before 1990 and 682 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Adams County, Colorado record is lightning, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is hail, with $438.8M 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 Adams County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 489 | 0 | $438.8M | 4.5 | 1955–2025 |
| Tornado | 192 | 0 | $26.9M | F3 | 1953–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 135 | 0 | $78K | 87 | 1958–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 21 | 1 | $560K | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Lightning | 19 | 2 | $391K | 0 | 1996–2011 |
| Flood | 5 | 0 | $3.2M | 0 | 1997–2023 |
| Dust Devil | 1 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 2016–2016 |
Decade by decade
Adams County, Colorado severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
184 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 180 touched down inside it and 4 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982-06-12 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-05-18 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 4.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-05-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2025-05-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-07-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-06-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1987-06-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1986-06-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-06-03 | EF2 | 0 | 42 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-05-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.4 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Adams County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 21, 2006 | Lightning | WESTMINSTER | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 19, 2001 | Lightning | WESTMINSTER | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 17, 2000 | Flash Flood | WEST CENTRAL PORTION | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 3, 1981 | Tornado | 0 | 42 | $25.0M | |
| May 20, 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Commerce City | 0 | 6 | $0 |
| Jun 21, 2001 | Hail | WATKINS | 0 | 5 | $49.0M |
| Jul 14, 2011 | Hail | WATKINS | 0 | 2 | $164.8M |
| Sep 4, 1989 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 2 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A man on a motorcycle was struck by lightning and killed. The motorcyclist was struck on U.S. Highway 36 between Church Ranch Blvd. and Sheridan Blvd. After the man was struck, he crashed into the center median. The lightning left a crater in the highway that was approximately 18 inches long, 8 inches wide and 4 inches deep.
Large hail, damaging winds and very heavy rain pummeled a mobile home park in Watkins. In the park, 52 mobile homes, 14 recreational vehicles, 3 homes and a commercial building were damaged. Siding was riddled with holes and windows were broken. Vehicles sustained extensive body damage and the car windows were shattered. A handful of people were treated for minor cuts and bruises. Strong winds also flipped a tractor trailer along Interstate 70 near Watkins. At least 30 private planes at Front Range Airport were totalled. The radome protecting the National Weather Service doppler radar, which was tracking the storm, also sustained damage. The storm caused power outages which affected about 1,200 residents. Excluding the damage done at Denver International Airport, damage estimates totalled $49 million, making it the costliest storm in the last 3 years, and 10th costliest since 1984.
Heavy rain, ranging from 4 to 10 inches through the entire storm event, caused widespread flooding along the entire drainage system of the South Platte River. Flooding and flash flooding inpacted Riverdale Golf Course and the Regional Park. The gulch that ran through those two areas caused flooding and erosion in several places including the newly created reservoirs between the Regional Park and 120th Avenue.|The Regional Park shop was also flooded as well as the Riverdale Golf Shop. All combined, the county���s estimated damage at the Park alone, not including the golf course, was about $637,000. Parts of Colorado Boulevard between CO7 and 168th Avenue were closed due to significant damage to the road surface and foundation.|Additional damage also occurred at retention ponds, parks and trails. The cost to roads and bridges was approximately $400,000 for repairs. Approximately 755 households were impacted by flooding.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
530,225
Population (ACS)
$484K
Median home value
12
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
- Bennett 113
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Adams County, Colorado?
862 events are on record between 1953 and 2025, causing 3 direct deaths and $469.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Adams County?
Hail, with 489 recorded events — 56.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Adams County?
184 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 180 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Adams County?
12 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Adams County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Adams County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Adams County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 91 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Adams 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
- Alamosa County 51
- Arapahoe County 913
- Archuleta County 74
- Baca County 621
- Bent County 290
- Boulder County 513
Cite this page
“Adams County, Colorado.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/colorado/adams-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.