Adams County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Adams County: 0.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jul 13, 2011Hail$165 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe thunderstorms produced extensive damage as they moved across the Urban Corridor. At Denver International Airport alone, large hail up to golfball size, very heavy rain and wind gusts to 59 mph caused substantial damage to 40 planes and stranded approximately 1,500 passengers overnight. Frontier and United Airlines were hardest hit as dozens of planes were taken out of service for repairs; forcing the cancellation of at least 220 flights over the next several days. Damage to the aircrafts alone was nearly $5 million. In addition, 83 cars in airport parking lots were damaged, along with some police cars and maintenance vehicles. In Watkins, two people suffered minor injuries…

2. May 22, 1996Hail$120 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe thunderstorm producing large hail ranging in size from 3/4 to 2 inches in diameter rumbled across the northwest and northern portions of the Denver metropolitan area. The thunderstorm apparently developed from an outflow boundary generated from the supercell thunderstorm that moved across extreme northeastern Colorado earlier in the evening. The storm developed near the foothills and moved east northeast across northern portions of the metro area. The hardest hit areas were cities of Arvada and Westminster, northwest of Denver. The insurance industry estimated $60 million in damage to homes and personal property and $62 million in damage to automobiles for a total of $122…

3. May 26, 2010Hail$70.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe thunderstorms pounded parts the Urban Corridor and Northeast Plains with very large hail, damaging wind and tornadoes. The hail, ranging from golfball to baseball size, hit northeast Denver, Brighton and Commerce City the hardest. The storms then continued to spread to the north and east; impacting Hudson, Prospect Valley, Byers and Deer Trail. The strong thunderstorm wind and hail stripped bark and branches from trees. Numerous accidents were reported as the hail accumulated up to a foot in depth on roadways. Homes and vehicles in the area were pummeled by hail. The Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Associated estimated to damage to be around $70 million; based off…

4. Jun 20, 2001Hail$49.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   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…

5. Jun 14, 1999Hail$35.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Damage from several hailstorms that struck areas in and near the Denver Metropolitan area from June 11th-14th totalled $35 million. Approximately $17.5 million was from automobile claims , with another $17.5 million in homeowner claims. The areas hardest hit by the storms included: Castle Rock, Commerce City, Evergreen and Golden.

6. Sep 12, 2013Flood$2.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   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…

7. May 11, 2023Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Dozens of roads in Adams County were hit by flooding and were closed due to damage. Authorities believe the damage and impact to the county was severe. The following streets were closed due to flooding: 26th Ave. between Yulle Road and Wolf Creek Road, 64th Ave. between Piggott Road and Wolf Creek Road, Piggott Road from 80th Ave. to 88th Ave., Old Victory Road from US 36 to SH 79, 72nd Ave. from Bradbury-Krebs Road to Xmore Road, Road 15 from Bradbury-Krebs Road to Xmore Road, 26th Ave. from Strasburg Road to Comanche Drive, 26th Ave. from Piggott Road to Yulle Road, 48th Ave. from Strasburg Road to Piggott Road, 112th Ave. from Headlight Road to Nordbye Road, 112th Ave. from…

8. Aug 4, 1999Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding and flash flooding problems developed over portions of the Urban Corridor as slow moving thunderstorms dumped anywhere from 2 to 3.5 inches of rainfall in approximately 3 hours. Near the junction of Interstate 25 and State Highway 36, up to 4 feet of water flooded an auto dealership. Approximately 45 cars were ruined. Sections of Interstate 25 and State Highway 36 near the interchange were closed due to floodwaters. Damage estimates to the dealership alone were approximately $500,000. Floodwaters, up to 5 feet deep, forced the evacuation of two mobile home parks in Federal Heights. In addition, railroad tracks were washed out near Federal Blvd. and 64th Avenue.Numerous…

9. Jul 13, 1996Tornado$220,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A fast moving tornado ripped a 12-mile path of destruction near Strasburg, in eastern Adams County. The tornado caused extensive structural damage to several galvanized metal grain silos, farm buildings and sheds in the area. The roof of a two-story log home was completely torn off. The home received substantial damage from the wind and heavy rain that followed the tornado. Several other homes in the area sustained roof damage and a number of power poles were downed along Highway 36.

10. Jul 11, 2001Lightning$200,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Lightning struck the roof of a home. Most of the damage was confined to the attic.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

104°F4 times, most recently Jun 29, 2018

All-time low

−25°F4 times, most recently Dec 22, 1990

Warmest night

72°FJul 25, 2003

Coldest day

−9°F2 times, most recently Feb 4, 1989

Wettest day

3.88 inSep 12, 2013

Snowiest day

23.6 inDec 24, 1982

Hottest year

1981mean 54.1°F

Coldest year

1951mean 48.4°F

Wettest year

201524.07 in

Driest year

19547.51 in

Snowiest season

99.3 in1958-59

Station Denver-stapleton (USW00023062), 5,286 ft elevation, 8.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 22, 2026; 98.7% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

Neighbouring counties

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USW00023062.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.