Arapahoe County, Colorado severe weather history spans 913 recorded events between 1962 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 64.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #197 nationally and #8 in Colorado.
913
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
19
Direct injuries
$1.1B
Property damage
The record
What the Arapahoe County, Colorado severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Arapahoe County, Colorado severe weather history averages 14.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 269 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 155 events fall before 1990 and 758 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Arapahoe County, Colorado record is flash flood, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is hail, with $1.1B 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 Arapahoe County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 592 | 0 | $1.1B | 4.25 | 1962–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 146 | 0 | $578K | 80 | 1964–2025 |
| Tornado | 100 | 0 | $9.6M | F2 | 1964–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 36 | 2 | $855K | 0 | 1997–2023 |
| Lightning | 30 | 0 | $944K | 0 | 1996–2019 |
| Flood | 8 | 0 | $3.4M | 0 | 1999–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2025–2025 |
Decade by decade
Arapahoe County, Colorado severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
112 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 106 touched down inside it and 6 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-05-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-05-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1996-07-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1986-06-08 | EF2 | 0 | 6 | 1.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1978-05-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-05-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-07-27 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 1.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-07-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-10-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-06-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.8 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Arapahoe County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 22, 2023 | Flash Flood | ARAPAHOE PARK | 1 | 0 | $50K |
| Jul 25, 2018 | Flash Flood | LITTLETON | 1 | 0 | $500K |
| Aug 11, 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | WESTMINSTER | 0 | 5 | $0 |
| Jun 29, 2011 | Lightning | (BKF)BUCKLEY AIR FORCE BASE | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jun 7, 2009 | Tornado | AURORA CHERRY CREEK | 0 | 2 | $500K |
| Jul 8, 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | AURORA CHERRY CREEK | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jul 27, 2018 | Tornado | PEORIA | 0 | 1 | $200K |
| May 1, 2015 | Lightning | AURORA CHERRY CREEK | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Thunderstorms produced very heavy rainfall, 1 to 2 inches in less than 30 minutes. At 4600 South Acoma, the floodwaters quickly inundated a basement apartment and trapped a 32-year-old woman inside. She was rescued, but died several hours later. |Floodwaters stalled several vehicles and forced the closure of several intersections including: East Iliff Ave. and South Chambers Road, Santa Fe Drive and West Oxford Ave., South Buckley Road and East Bates Ave., East 6th Ave. and South Picadilly Road, East Hampden Ave and South Uruvan Way. Flooding created a large sinkhole in Sheridan. A small SUV was fell into the hole. The driver was not injured. She escaped her vehicle before it was swallowed by the sinkhole.
The second tornado, associated with the storm, touched down in a subdivision that was under construction at Gartrell and Arapahoe Road. Four large condominiums under construction were destroyed. The most heavily damaged portions of the structures had not been sheet rocked. Adjacent sections, where the walls were in place, were not destroyed. A man suffered four broken ribs and several cuts and bruises when the trailer he sought shelter in, was flipped three times and torn apart by the tornado.
Heavy rain, ranging from 4 to 12 inches through the entire storm event, caused widespread flooding along the entire drainage systems of East Tollgate and Coal Creeks. The areas around Parker Road and Piney Creek were flooded as several holding ponds did overflow their banks. Some of the worst flooded in Centenniel occurred along Arapahoe Road near Cottonwood. According to FEMA, 2,138 households were impacted by flooding.||Road closures included: East Fitzsimons Pkwy. and North Peoria, East 26th Ave and Fulton St., East 17th Ave and Dayton St., East Colfax and Peoria St., East 12th Ave. between Xanthia St. and Xenia St, East 12th Ave. and Yosemite St., East 11th Ave. and Willow St., East 11th Ave. and Xanthia St., East 11th Ave. and Xenia St., Del Mar Pkwy. and North Havana St., East 1st Ave and Moline St., East Alameda Ave. and South Havana St., South Peoria St. just North of East Ford Ave., South bound 225 and East Alameda Ave., East Alameda Ave. and East Alameda Dr., East Florida Ave. and South Galena St.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
659,844
Population (ACS)
$561K
Median home value
12
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 |
| 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
- Aurora Cherry Creek 135
- Byers 126
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Arapahoe County, Colorado?
913 events are on record between 1962 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths and $1.1B in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Arapahoe County?
Hail, with 592 recorded events — 64.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Arapahoe County?
112 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 106 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Arapahoe County?
12 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Arapahoe County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Arapahoe County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Arapahoe County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 94 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Arapahoe 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
- Archuleta County 74
- Adams County 862
- Baca County 621
- Bent County 290
- Boulder County 513
Cite this page
“Arapahoe County, Colorado.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/colorado/arapahoe-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.