Larimer County, Colorado severe weather history spans 915 recorded events between 1954 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 67.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #194 nationally and #7 in Colorado.
915
Recorded events
24
Direct deaths
114
Direct injuries
$307.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Larimer County, Colorado severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Larimer County, Colorado severe weather history averages 12.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 268 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 153 events fall before 1990 and 762 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Larimer County, Colorado record is flash flood, responsible for 13 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $192.1M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Larimer County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 616 | 0 | $2.6M | 4.5 | 1955–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 136 | 2 | $79K | 78 | 1960–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 74 | 13 | $192.1M | 0 | 1997–2024 |
| Lightning | 46 | 9 | $217K | 0 | 1996–2019 |
| Tornado | 33 | 0 | $65K | F2 | 1954–2018 |
| Flood | 6 | 0 | $109.1M | 0 | 1996–2015 |
| Heavy Rain | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2004–2022 |
| Wildfire | 1 | 0 | $3.0M | 0 | 2000–2000 |
Decade by decade
Larimer County, Colorado severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
31 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 29 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-05-22 | EF3 | 1 | 78 | 38.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2015-06-04 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 6.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1990-06-09 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 23.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-06-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-06-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-06-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-06-25 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1987-06-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1985-08-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-07-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Larimer County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 29, 1997 | Flash Flood | FT COLLINS | 5 | 40 | $190.0M |
| Jul 20, 2021 | Flash Flood | RUSTIC | 4 | 0 | $500K |
| Jul 2, 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | LOVELAND | 2 | 4 | $0 |
| Jul 15, 2022 | Flash Flood | DRAKE | 2 | 0 | $250K |
| Sep 12, 2013 | Flash Flood | BERTHOUD | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 25, 2008 | Lightning | FT COLLINS | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 11, 2014 | Lightning | DEER RIDGE | 1 | 7 | $0 |
| Jul 12, 2014 | Lightning | DEER RIDGE | 1 | 4 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Heavy rain continued to produce widespread flash flooding. A 79-yr old Larimer County resident was killed when she was swept away while trying to climb to safety from her home in Cedar Point. In addition, A 61-yr old Cedar Point resident died when her home was swept down the Big Thompson River by the floodwaters.
Lightning killed a 35-yr old man and seriously injured his wife and young daughter. The family was hiking near the Gore Range Overlook along Trail Ridge Road when the thunderstorm developed, at an elevation of 11,700 feet.
Heavy rain and large hail from thunderstorms moving across eastern Larimer, northern Weld and western Logan Counties caused extensive flooding and flash flooding problems throughout the afternoon and evening hours. Rainfall totals ranged anywhere from 2 to 5 inches. Flash Floods washed out several roads and highways. Highway 14, the main highway between Fort Collins and Sterling was extensively damaged. Five bridges were damaged by floodwaters and several sections of the highway were washed out. Lone Tree Creek, near Lucerne, jumped its banks and flooded several homes. Highway 14 was closed for at least a week to repair the damage. Damage to county roads and bridges throughout Weld County was estimated to be $500,000.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
367,368
Population (ACS)
$569K
Median home value
30
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 31, 2024 | Fire | ALEXANDER MOUNTAIN FIRE | FM |
| Jul 31, 2024 | Fire | STONE MOUNTAIN FIRE | FM |
| Jan 15, 2021 | Fire | WILDFIRES | DR |
| Sep 6, 2020 | Fire | CAMERON PEAK FIRE | FM |
| Mar 28, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Ft Collins 129
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Larimer County, Colorado?
915 events are on record between 1954 and 2025, causing 24 direct deaths and $307.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Larimer County?
Hail, with 616 recorded events — 67.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Larimer County?
31 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 29 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Larimer County?
30 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Larimer County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Larimer County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Larimer County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 90 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Larimer 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
- La Plata County 256
- Las Animas County 437
- Lake County 8
- Lincoln County 859
- Kit Carson County 1,324
- Logan County 850
Cite this page
“Larimer County, Colorado.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/colorado/larimer-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.