Custer County, Colorado severe weather history spans 164 recorded events between 1954 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 56.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,642 nationally and #33 in Colorado.
164
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$230K
Property damage
The record
What the Custer County, Colorado severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Custer County, Colorado severe weather history averages 2.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 64 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 10 events fall before 1990 and 154 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Custer County, Colorado record is lightning, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is wildfire, with $200K 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 Custer County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 92 | 0 | $500 | 2.75 | 1956–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 25 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2018–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 23 | 0 | $24K | 0 | 1998–2021 |
| Tornado | 9 | 0 | $5K | F2 | 1954–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 5 | 0 | $0 | 71 | 1970–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2024 |
| Lightning | 2 | 2 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2011 |
| Wildfire | 2 | 0 | $200K | 0 | 2002–2002 |
| Debris Flow | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2020–2020 |
Decade by decade
Custer 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960-07-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-02-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-07-30 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-07-22 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-06-29 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-06-04 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-08-30 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-08-02 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-07-24 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Custer County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31, 2011 | Lightning | WESTCLIFFE | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 3, 2008 | Lightning | ROSITA | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 20, 1992 | Hail | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A tornado touched down near William Avenue in |Westcliffe, CO on the evening of July 22, 2019, traveling in|a southeast to northwest direction. A continuous path of damage |was seen for one-third of a mile before lifting as it crossed |Vista Dr. No further visible damage was seen beyond this point |but witnesses said the tornado touched down again before |nearing Wolf Street and then lifted for a final time. |Much of the damage included canopies, carports, RVs, and gazebos.|No primary residence damage was seen outside of a few missing |shingles, peeled up metal roofing, and a few blown in windows by |flying debris. One carport awning was lifted off the ground nearly|100 feet and then carried nearly 100 yards before it was dropped |onto a nearby roof. No injuries were reported.
A significant flash flood occurred on the Junkins burn scar when a small, but intense storm moved down the South Hardscrabble watershed. Rainfall estimates of 1.5 to 2 inches caused major erosion in the canyon and piled tree and rock debris on County Road 386. The wave of water and debris moved into Greenwood and Wetmore. Remarkably, only a few outbuildings and barns were affected by water and mud as the dangerous flood waters moved through that area. County Roads remained mainly intact.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
5,247
Population (ACS)
$392K
Median home value
13
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 29, 2026 | Fire | ASPEN ACRES FIRE | FM |
| Mar 28, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Oct 17, 2016 | Fire | JUNKINS FIRE | FM |
| Oct 23, 2012 | Fire | WETMORE FIRE | FM |
| Jun 16, 2011 | Fire | DUCKETT FIRE | FM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Custer County, Colorado?
164 events are on record between 1954 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths and $230K in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Custer County?
Hail, with 92 recorded events — 56.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Custer 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 Custer County?
13 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Custer County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Custer County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Custer County as very low risk, placing it in the 4 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Custer 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
- Crowley County 157
- Delta County 70
- Costilla County 24
- Denver County 535
- Conejos County 14
- Dolores County 33
Cite this page
“Custer County, Colorado.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/colorado/custer-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.