Tornado Risk in Colorado

All Colorado counties ranked by FEMA National Risk Index tornado score

Tornado risk — violently rotating columns of air capable of catastrophic local damage — is rated for 64 of 64 Colorado counties in FEMA's National Risk Index. Denver County carries the state's highest tornado score at 97.9, with $28M in expected annual tornado losses.

9 Colorado counties are rated High or Very High for tornado, and expected annual losses from tornado total roughly $188M statewide. The full ranking below links to each county's complete 18-hazard risk profile.

County Rankings — Tornado

#CountyTornado ScoreRatingAnn. Freq.Ann. Loss
1 Denver County
97.9
High 0.16 / yr $28M
2 Arapahoe County
97.2
High 1.06 / yr $22M
3 El Paso County
96.8
High 1.48 / yr $25M
4 Jefferson County
96.5
High 0.56 / yr $22M
5 Weld County
95.1
High 4.20 / yr $16M
6 Adams County
93.4
High 1.53 / yr $13M
7 Douglas County
93.4
High 0.75 / yr $14M
8 Boulder County
92.6
High 0.52 / yr $12M
9 Larimer County
90.6
High 1.30 / yr $11M
10 Logan County
73.3
Medium 1.82 / yr $2M
11 Pueblo County
72.2
Medium 0.73 / yr $3M
12 Morgan County
66.5
Medium 1.79 / yr $3M
13 Broomfield County
61.9
Low 0.03 / yr $3M
14 Kit Carson County
57.5
Low 2.30 / yr $2M
15 Elbert County
48.9
Low 2.17 / yr $2M
16 Yuma County
45.3
Low 2.43 / yr $1M
17 Prowers County
36.8
Low 1.22 / yr $492K
18 Otero County
33.3
Low 0.45 / yr $446K
19 Phillips County
33.0
Low 0.60 / yr $786K
20 Washington County
32.2
Low 3.16 / yr $481K
21 Fremont County
31.2
Low 0.31 / yr $441K
22 Teller County
28.0
Low 0.26 / yr $621K
23 Baca County
26.5
Low 1.28 / yr $235K
24 Grand County
26.1
Very Low 0.34 / yr $490K
25 Lincoln County
25.1
Very Low 2.62 / yr $427K
26 Sedgwick County
23.3
Very Low 0.44 / yr $327K
27 Summit County
21.8
Very Low 0.07 / yr $382K
28 Bent County
19.7
Very Low 0.81 / yr $284K
29 Park County
19.2
Very Low 0.64 / yr $310K
30 Clear Creek County
18.7
Very Low 0.21 / yr $300K
31 Mesa County
17.7
Very Low 0.10 / yr $199K
32 Alamosa County
16.6
Very Low 0.05 / yr $109K
33 La Plata County
15.9
Very Low 0.04 / yr $181K
34 Gilpin County
15.9
Very Low 0.09 / yr $203K
35 Kiowa County
15.3
Very Low 1.46 / yr $182K
36 Cheyenne County
15.2
Very Low 1.74 / yr $174K
37 Crowley County
14.7
Very Low 0.45 / yr $111K
38 Eagle County
14.4
Very Low 0.05 / yr $178K
39 Las Animas County
14.1
Very Low 0.95 / yr $104K
40 Rio Grande County
13.9
Very Low 0.05 / yr $73K
41 Chaffee County
12.7
Very Low 0.06 / yr $125K
42 Huerfano County
11.7
Very Low 0.21 / yr $60K
43 Montezuma County
10.1
Very Low 0.05 / yr $53K
44 Archuleta County
9.6
Very Low 0.05 / yr $45K
45 Conejos County
9.4
Very Low 0.07 / yr $38K
46 Garfield County
9.2
Very Low 0.08 / yr $68K
47 Montrose County
8.9
Very Low 0.05 / yr $53K
48 Delta County
8.8
Very Low 0.03 / yr $44K
49 Lake County
8.4
Very Low 0.02 / yr $65K
50 Saguache County
8.0
Very Low 0.20 / yr $37K
51 Custer County
7.7
Very Low 0.11 / yr $60K
52 Costilla County
7.2
Very Low 0.12 / yr $20K
53 Pitkin County
6.9
Very Low 0.02 / yr $49K
54 Gunnison County
6.2
Very Low 0.07 / yr $41K
55 Routt County
4.3
Very Low 0.05 / yr $21K
56 Rio Blanco County
3.7
Very Low 0.10 / yr $10K
57 San Miguel County
3.4
Very Low 0.02 / yr $13K
58 Jackson County
3.4
Very Low 0.10 / yr $9K
59 Dolores County
2.8
Very Low 0.02 / yr $5K
60 Moffat County
2.7
Very Low 0.13 / yr $7K
61 Ouray County
2.6
Very Low 0.01 / yr $7K
62 Mineral County
2.3
Very Low 0.04 / yr $6K
63 San Juan County
1.6
Very Low 0.01 / yr $2K
64 Hinsdale County
1.6
Very Low 0.03 / yr $2K

64 Colorado counties with measurable tornado risk. See the national tornado ranking or all Colorado counties by overall risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Colorado county has the highest tornado risk?

Denver County has the highest FEMA tornado risk score in Colorado at 97.9 (High), with $28M in expected annual losses and about 0.16 events per year.

How many Colorado counties face significant tornado risk?

64 Colorado counties record measurable tornado risk in FEMA's National Risk Index; 9 of them are rated High or Very High.

Other Hazards in Colorado