Archuleta County

Every recorded tornado

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

Volcanoes within 100 miles

1. U.S. volcanoes within 100 miles, from the USGS Volcano Hazards Program. The threat category is the USGS 2018 National Volcanic Threat Assessment, which ranks volcanoes by how hazardous their past eruptions were and how many people and how much infrastructure lie near them. It is not a forecast of eruption.

USGS Volcano Hazards Program, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by CO GS (24), NASA (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. Apr 18, 2000High Wind, San Juan River Basin$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An approaching cold front induced strong winds across western Colorado. Gusts of 50 to 60 MPH were common. Some peak measured wind gusts include 92 MPH on Huntsman Mesa in southwest Gunnison County, 84 MPH near Hotchkiss, 77 MPH near Ignacio, 74 MPH at Jacks Canyon on the Uncompahgre Plateau, 73 MPH near Montrose, 73 MPH on the Tavaputs Plateau just north of Palisade, and 67 MPH about 20 miles northwest of Craig. The strong winds downed many trees and a number of power poles. Several vehicles were smashed or damaged by fallen trees. Several mobile homes were destroyed when they were blown from their moorings. Many houses and businesses sustained damage, mostly as a result of being…

2. Jun 26, 2023Wildfire, San Juan River Basin$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Coal Mine Fire started in late June from a lightning strike, 18 miles south of Pagosa Springs, and grew to 292 acres before it was contained in mid July.

3. Jul 1, 2023Wildfire, San Juan River Basin$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Coal Mine Fire started in late June from a lightning strike, 18 miles south of Pagosa Springs, and grew to 292 acres before it was contained in mid July.

4. Jul 15, 2014Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rainfall resulted in flash flooding within various locations in and near Pagosa Springs. Flowing water about 18 inches deep ran across Highway 160 about a half mile east of the junction with Highway 84. A stream which comes down to Rumbaugh Road in northeast Pagosa Springs had a high volume of water which ran across the road and continued onto Highway 160; with water 6 to 8 inches deep in an area generally bounded on the east and west ends by 1st Street and 2nd Street and bounded on the north and south ends by Lewis Street and Highway 160. Another area of flash flooding occurred on the west end of town in the Bastille Drive area where up to a foot of water depth was…

5. May 22, 2005Flood, San Juan River Basin$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Warm spring temperatures resulted in rapid melting of snowpack which caused flooding along the Rio Blanco River near Pagosa Springs. After years of drought and a lack of flushing flows, debris buildup in rivers and creeks enhanced flooding. Flood waters inundated 4 homes with water up to 12 inches above the foundation on some homes. Portions of County Roads 335, 337, and 339 were flooded with water up to 16 inches deep in places. Flood waters damaged County Road 326 and washed out a culvert. One person is believed to have fallen over a cliff into the swollen river and drowned. The person was not found.

6. Sep 8, 2000Lightning$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck a power pole and traveled into an adjacent garage/workshop. The garage/workshop and all contents, including an antique car, were totally destroyed by the resultant fire.

7. Sep 29, 2014Thunderstorm Wind$45,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hundreds of trees were blown down by thunderstorm outflow winds in the San Juan National Forest, including a large area near County Road 302 in eastern Archuleta County. Live trees up to 3 feet in diameter were snapped off like toothpicks.

8. Jun 26, 2000Lightning$40,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck a house and started it on fire. Additional lightning strikes around the same time started trees on fire in the surrounding forest.

9. Apr 7, 1998Lightning$40,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck a large tree and traveled to a nearby house which caught on fire. Portions of the house were a total loss. Pieces of the tree were blown across the street.

10. Sep 12, 2025Flash Flood$30,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Public reported flash flooding over Archuleta County Road 500/169 Trujillo Road between Arboles and Caracas. There were additional washouts reported near Arboles point, along Trujillo road about 2 miles southeast from the initial LSR location.

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

94°FJul 11, 2021

All-time low

−35°FJan 12, 1963

Warmest night

62°FJul 29, 1946

Coldest day

4°FDec 23, 1990

Wettest day

3.30 inDec 1, 2007

Snowiest day

32.0 inJan 13, 1997

Hottest year

2025mean 46.8°F

Coldest year

1990mean 38.8°F

Wettest year

195742.35 in

Driest year

198913.53 in

Snowiest season

245.0 in1978-79

Station Vallecito Dam (USC00058582), 7,644 ft elevation, 28.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1917 to October 12, 2026; 97.8% 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 USC00058582.
• 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.
• Volcanoes USGS Volcano Hazards Program, U.S. volcanoes and 2018 threat assessment.
• 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.