Arapahoe County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Arapahoe 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.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by CO GS (1), USGS Conterminous (1).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jun 19, 2018Hail$276 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The property estimate value was the total storm damage summary for the event.

2. Sep 29, 2014Hail$213 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A storm system that moved through the area produced large hail, up to golfball size, and street flooding in parts of the metro area then spread east into the plains. The hailstorm was the most costly of the summer season with with insured losses topping $213.3 million, according to the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association.|Insurance claims included 29,297 automobile claims worth more than $87.2 million and 14,287 property claims for $126 million, ranking the storm as the eighth most expensive to hit the state. The storm also caused multiple accidents. A semi became detached from a trailer, blocking traffic on westbound Interstate 70 west of Tower Road. Downed power…

3. Jun 7, 2012Hail$161 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe thunderstorms brought damaging wind and hail, heavy rain, along several tornadoes, one of which was rated an EF-2. The storms produced hail from 1.5 to 2.75 inches in diameter. In addition to the large hail, heavy rainfall from 1 to 2 inches also accompanied the storms. The combination of hail and heavy rain caused extensive street flooding across Aurora, Castle Rock, Centennial, Cherry Creek, Englewood, South Denver, Highlands Ranch, Lakewood and Littleton. The hail was reportedly knee deep in several areas making roads impassable. As a result, snow plows had to be summoned to clear the streets. In Castle Rock, a King Soopers supermarket sustained extensive damage when…

4. Jun 7, 2009Hail$161 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe thunderstorms in Denver and the surrounding metropolitan area produced five tornadoes, large hail and damaging thunderstorm winds. The strongest of the tornadoes touched down near Southlands Mall, in southeast Aurora. Two men were injured, one seriously. Overall the damage was rated mild to moderate, which translated to an EF1 rating. Four other tornadoes touched down, two of which caused minor damage. Another EF1 tornado damaged a home, several outbuildings, and injured some horses in unincorporated Elbert County.||In addition to the tornadoes, large hail from 1 to 3 inches in diameter was observed. In parts of Aurora and Centennial, thunderstorm winds blew down power…

5. Jun 6, 2012Hail$160 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe thunderstorms broke late in the evening, striking areas hardest from Denver southward. Locations impacted by the storms included but were not limited to: Aurora, Castle Rock, Centennial, Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Parker, Surrey Ridge. The storms produced a barrage of large hail, damaging straight line winds, flash flooding and several short lived tornadoes. The hail ranged in size from 1 to 2 inches in diameter, and caused extensive damage to homes and automobiles. The hail inundated the roadways with several inches of hail in Douglas County. Consequently, snow plows had to be called out to clear the roadways. One tornado that touched down near Grover in Weld County…

6. Oct 16, 1998Hail$87.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A potent late season hailstorm struck portions of Denver and the surrounding metro area. The storm began dumping torrential hail, mostly pea sized, over portions of Arvada and Wheat Ridge, northwest of Denver. Hail, heaviest near Interstate 70, reportedly piled up to 6 inches deep. Several accidents were attributed, at least in part, to the hailstorm. Snowplows had to be called out to clear several city streets.As the storm moved southeast, into the Denver and Aurora areas, it intensified. Large hail, up to 2 inches in diameter pounded the area. Damage estimates totalled $87.8 million ($27.3 million in homeowner claims and $60.5 million in automobile claims), making this the 7th…

7. Aug 29, 2002Tornado$6.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   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.

8. Sep 12, 2013Flood$3.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   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…

9. Jul 23, 2001Hail$606,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The city of Littleton suffered $612,000 in damage to vehicles, roofs, buildings, landscaping and computers. Almost every vehicle owned by visitors and employees in the Littleton Center parking lot sustained damage.

10. Jun 7, 2009Tornado$500,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A tornado touched down in southeast Aurora, south of Buckley Airport, and moved south-southeast across open fields, some residential areas, and Southlands Mall. Numerous homes and apartments suffered window damage, minor roof damage and there were a few broken garage doors. The Southlands Mall had some roof and window damage, and wall damage to one of its restaurants. South of the mall, Lowe's received some roof damage, and lightweight sheds and other structures were destroyed. One resident, in the Sorrel Ranch subdivision, north of the mall, was swept off his porch while attempting to get close-up pictures of the tornado. He was found unconcious and bleeding in his front yard,…

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, 8.2 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.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• 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.