Broomfield County

Population 79,174 (2025) 33 sq mi

Broomfield County has recorded 5 tornadoes since 1950, 38th most of 64 counties in Colorado; the most recent was on June 7, 2009.

Hazard fingerprint for Broomfield County Tornado: 99th percentile. Tropical: 0th percentile. Wildfire: 35th percentile. Flood: 54th percentile. Hail & wind: 95th percentile. Heat: 0th percentile. Cold: 0th percentile. Winter: 0th percentile. TORTROPFIREFLOODSEVEREHEATCOLDWINTER

Hazard fingerprint Each spoke is this county’s percentile among U.S. counties where that hazard occurs. How it is computed

2026
  • Tornado damage paths since 19505
  • Wildfire burn scars since 19841

At a glance

The record for Broomfield County in eight numbers. Each links to its section below.

Tornadoes since 1950

5

38th of 64 in Colorado

Fewer than the typical Colorado county, which has had 9

Details

Flood insurance claims

20

25th of 64 in Colorado

$179,000 paid since 1978

Details

Acres burned since 1984

206

55th of 64 in Colorado

1 large fire; the largest was Rocky Flats, 2006

Details

Strongest tornado

F2

June 5, 1988, 2.0 mile path

Largest earthquake within 50 mi

5.5magnitude

August 9, 1967, 16.2 miles away

Details

Federal disaster declarations

6

Most recent: Covid-19 Pandemic, 2020

Details

Record high

104°F

Reached 4 times, most recently June 29, 2018

Details

Record low

−25°F

Reached 4 times, most recently December 22, 1990

Details

Tornadoes

About one every 15 years since 1950, none rated F3/EF3 or stronger.

Strongest

June 5, 1988

F2, 2.0 mile path

50 yards wide.

Most recent

Sunday, June 7, 2009

EF0, 0.6 mile path

17 years ago.

Tornadoes by decade Doppler radar era² 1950s: 0 1960s: 0 1970s: 1 1 1980s: 2 2 1990s: 1 1 2000s: 1 1 2010s: 0 2020s: 0 1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
Recorded tornadoes per decade. The 2020s are incomplete.
Tornadoes by month J: 0 F: 0 M: 0 A: 1 M: 0 J: 3 3 J: 1 A: 0 S: 0 O: 0 N: 0 D: 0 JFMAMJJASOND
By month of occurrence, all years.

Every recorded tornado

Tornadoes in Broomfield County since 1950
Jun 7, 2009EF00.65000
Jul 12, 1996F00.15000
Jun 5, 1988F20.55000
Jun 5, 1988F22.05000
Apr 19, 1971F10.22700
  1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Broomfield 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.

Hurricanes and tropical storms

No tropical storm or hurricane has tracked within 100 miles since records began in 1851.

Wildfire and smoke

206 acres burned in 1 large fire since 1984, equal to 1.0% of the land.

Largest

April 2, 2006

Rocky Flats Fire, 1,145 acres

206 acres inside Broomfield County.

Most recent

April 2, 2006

Rocky Flats Fire

1,145 acres in total.

Acres burned since 1984, cumulative 2006: 206 206 acres 198519901995200020052010201520202025
Running total of acres burned inside the county (line) and each year’s acres (bars).

Every large fire

Large wildfires since 1984
Rocky Flats20062061,145
  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

Smokiest year

2021: 49 days

Heavy smoke on 27 days in 2020, the most of any year.

Last 10 years

17.1 days a year

Medium or heavy smoke, 2016 to 2025.

2025

17 days

Medium or heavy smoke. 22 so far in 2026.

Days with medium or heavy smoke overhead, by year 2011: 6 2012: 17 2013: 4 2014: 2 2015: 6 2016: 3 2017: 10 2018: 14 2019: 1 2020: 44 2021: 49 49 2022: 8 2023: 11 2024: 14 2025: 17 201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Days each year on which a satellite-traced plume of medium or heavy smoke covered the county’s population centre, 2011 to 2025.
  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.

Floods and flood insurance

20 federal flood insurance claims since 1978, with $179,000 paid.

Federal flood insurance claims by year
Claims per year since 1978. Years with fewer than five claims are not shown.

Claims by ZIP code

Flood insurance claims by ZIP code
8002016$123,000

Flood events since 1996

  • Flash Flood2
  • Flood1

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.

Drought

In severe drought or worse for 161 of 1,581 months since 1895 (10%); the longest spell lasted 17 months.

161

Months in severe drought or worse since 1895

59

Months in extreme drought

10%

Share of all months, severe or worse

Lowest reading

August 2026

−7.59, extreme drought

Longest severe spell

17 months

April 1954 to August 1955.

Latest month

September 2026

−7.47, extreme drought

Months in severe drought or worse, by year 1895: 0 1896: 0 1897: 0 1898: 0 1899: 0 1900: 0 1901: 1 1902: 4 1903: 0 1904: 1 1905: 0 1906: 0 1907: 0 1908: 2 1909: 0 1910: 3 1911: 5 1912: 0 1913: 0 1914: 0 1915: 0 1916: 0 1917: 0 1918: 0 1919: 0 1920: 0 1921: 0 1922: 0 1923: 0 1924: 0 1925: 3 1926: 0 1927: 0 1928: 0 1929: 0 1930: 0 1931: 0 1932: 6 1933: 3 1934: 8 1935: 4 1936: 1 1937: 4 1938: 0 1939: 5 1940: 4 1941: 0 1942: 0 1943: 0 1944: 0 1945: 0 1946: 2 1947: 0 1948: 0 1949: 0 1950: 1 1951: 0 1952: 0 1953: 0 1954: 9 9 1955: 8 1956: 3 1957: 0 1958: 0 1959: 0 1960: 0 1961: 0 1962: 0 1963: 8 1964: 6 1965: 0 1966: 8 1967: 3 1968: 0 1969: 0 1970: 0 1971: 0 1972: 1 1973: 0 1974: 0 1975: 0 1976: 0 1977: 8 1978: 4 1979: 0 1980: 0 1981: 1 1982: 2 1983: 0 1984: 0 1985: 0 1986: 0 1987: 0 1988: 0 1989: 0 1990: 0 1991: 0 1992: 0 1993: 0 1994: 0 1995: 0 1996: 0 1997: 0 1998: 0 1999: 0 2000: 5 2001: 0 2002: 6 2003: 1 2004: 0 2005: 0 2006: 3 2007: 0 2008: 1 2009: 0 2010: 0 2011: 0 2012: 7 2013: 3 2014: 0 2015: 0 2016: 0 2017: 0 2018: 6 2019: 0 2020: 0 2021: 0 2022: 0 2023: 0 2024: 0 2025: 2 18951905191519251935194519551965197519851995200520152025
Months each year with a Palmer index of −3 or lower, 1895 to 2025. Twelve means the whole year.
  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.

Earthquakes and landslides

6 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles since 1900; the largest was magnitude 5.5 in 1967.

1

Magnitude 2.5+ inside the county since 1973

4

Magnitude 3+ within 50 miles since 1973

6

Magnitude 4+ within 50 miles since 1900

2

Magnitude 5+ within 50 miles since 1900

Largest within 50 miles

August 9, 1967

Magnitude 5.5

7 km SE of Lochbuie, Colorado; 16.2 miles away, 6.2 miles deep.

Most recent, magnitude 3 or more

November 6, 2016

Magnitude 3.0

8 km ENE of Greeley, Colorado; 33.6 miles away.

Earthquakes of magnitude 3 or more within 50 miles, by year 1973: 0 1974: 0 1975: 0 1976: 0 1977: 0 1978: 0 1979: 0 1980: 0 1981: 1 1 1982: 0 1983: 0 1984: 0 1985: 0 1986: 0 1987: 0 1988: 0 1989: 0 1990: 0 1991: 0 1992: 0 1993: 0 1994: 1 1995: 0 1996: 0 1997: 0 1998: 0 1999: 0 2000: 0 2001: 0 2002: 0 2003: 0 2004: 0 2005: 0 2006: 0 2007: 0 2008: 0 2009: 0 2010: 0 2011: 0 2012: 0 2013: 0 2014: 1 2015: 0 2016: 1 2017: 0 2018: 0 2019: 0 2020: 0 2021: 0 2022: 0 2023: 0 2024: 0 2025: 0 19731978198319881993199820032008201320182023
Per year, 1973 to 2025.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

Earthquakes of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles
Dec 25, 19944.044.56.29 km NE of Larkspur, Colorado
Apr 2, 19814.32.85.03 km NE of Northglenn, Colorado
Nov 26, 19675.28.03.14 km NE of Derby, Colorado
Aug 9, 19675.516.26.27 km SE of Lochbuie, Colorado
Apr 27, 19674.511.93.19 km SSE of Brighton, Colorado
Apr 10, 19674.311.93.17 km SE of Brighton, Colorado
  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

2

Landslides mapped, probable or better

0

With a recorded date

1

Source inventory

Mapped by CO GS (2).

  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.

Severe weather and other events

48 events in the National Weather Service record, 48 of them since 1996.

19

Hail reports, 1 inch or larger

0

Hail, 2 inches or larger

7

Damaging gusts, 58 mph+

0

Winter weather events since 1996

0

Heat events since 1996

0

Cold events since 1996

Largest hail

August 10, 2004

1.50 inches

Strongest measured or estimated gust

June 6, 2020

71 mph

More event types since 1996

Other Storm Events types since 1996
Lightning100Jun 2, 2019

Costliest events since 1996

  1. Aug 16, 2022Flash Flood$10,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Heavy rainfall produced extensive flooding in Broomfield. Six inches of water inundated a section of Highway 287. Bike paths were flooded along Rock Creek and near Spader Way near the Broomfield Events Center.

  2. Jun 2, 2019Lightning$1,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Lightning struck a home with only minor damage.

  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.

Weather records

From Denver-stapleton, 15.8 miles from the county’s population centre, with records from 1948.

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
Average monthly high and low temperature and precipitation, last 30 years, Denver-stapleton 32°F 45° 18° 0.4 Jan 46° 19° 0.6 Feb 55° 28° 1.2 Mar 62° 34° 1.6 Apr 71° 44° 2.5 May 83° 54° 1.7 Jun 90° 60° 2.0 Jul 87° 58° 1.8 Aug 80° 49° 1.3 Sep 66° 37° 0.8 Oct 55° 26° 0.5 Nov 46° 19° 0.5 Dec Precipitation, inches
Average daily high and low by month, and average monthly precipitation, over the last 30 years.
Days reaching 95°F per year 1976: 5 1977: 9 1978: 15 1979: 13 1980: 13 1981: 12 1982: 6 1983: 4 1984: 3 1985: 9 1986: 7 1987: 15 1988: 9 1989: 13 1990: 16 1991: 7 1992: 2 1993: 10 1994: 22 1995: 16 1996: 7 1997: 8 1998: 5 1999: 5 2000: 18 2001: 15 2002: 25 2003: 23 2004: 7 2005: 17 2006: 12 2007: 17 2008: 16 2009: 2 2010: 12 2011: 14 2012: 36 36 2013: 14 2014: 6 2015: 5 2016: 23 2017: 25 2018: 30 2019: 23 2020: 32 2021: 28 2022: 26 2023: 18 2024: 18 2025: 16 19761986199620062016
Days reaching 95°F each complete year, last 50 years. Thirty-year average: 16.8.
Snowfall by winter 1976: 34.6 in 1977: 46.5 in 1978: 73.2 in 1979: 85.5 in 85.5 1980: 45.1 in 1981: 26.7 in 1982: 81.6 in 1983: 80.9 in 1984: 55.2 in 1985: 63.1 in 1986: 71.3 in 1987: 62.3 in 1988: 50.1 in 1989: 64.5 in 1990: 57.7 in 1991: 79.0 in 1992: 60.4 in 1993: 69.1 in 1994: 38.8 in 1995: 50.3 in 1996: 44.7 in 1997: 72.1 in 1998: 44.5 in 1999: 45.6 in 2000: 58.3 in 2001: 30.2 in 2002: 61.8 in 2003: 37.9 in 2004: 39.3 in 2005: 30.4 in 2006: 72.6 in 2007: 43.9 in 2008: 26.1 in 2009: 43.3 in 2010: 24.6 in 2011: 49.9 in 2012: 53.6 in 2013: 36.2 in 2014: 59.9 in 2015: 73.1 in 2016: 27.5 in 2017: 26.0 in 2018: 44.9 in 2019: 71.4 in 2020: 72.0 in 2021: 43.4 in 2022: 44.0 in 2023: 44.3 in 2024: 36.1 in 2025: 24.7 in 19761986199620062016
Total snowfall each winter (July to June), last 50 winters.

Median first snow

October 18

Earliest: September 3, 1961

Median last snow

April 29

Latest: June 5, 1953

0 of 78 winters had no measurable snow.

Station Denver-stapleton (USW00023062), 5,286 ft elevation, 15.8 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.

Federal disaster declarations

6 since 1953. The most recent: Covid-19 Pandemic, March 28, 2020.

Federal disaster declarations
Mar 28, 2020BiologicalCovid-19 PandemicMajor disasterDR-4498-CO
Mar 13, 2020BiologicalCovid-19EmergencyEM-3436-CO
Sep 12, 2013FloodSevere Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and MudslidesEmergencyEM-3365-CO
Jan 7, 2007SnowstormSnowEmergencyEM-3270-CO
Sep 5, 2005Coastal StormHurricane Katrina EvacuationEmergencyEM-3224-CO
Apr 9, 2003SnowstormSnowEmergencyEM-3185-CO

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.

How this compares

Where Broomfield County stands among 64 counties in Colorado and 3,143 in the United States.

Ranks
Tornadoes since 1950538 / 642,614 / 3,143
Tornadoes rated F3/EF3 or stronger0——
Tropical cyclones within 50 mi0——
Hurricane-strength passes within 50 mi0——
Wildfire acres since 198420655 / 641,464 / 3,143
Flood insurance claims2025 / 642,060 / 3,143
Flood insurance paid$179,00021 / 642,159 / 3,143
Disaster declarations655 / 643,045 / 3,143
Flood events since 1996357 / 643,081 / 3,143
Hail and wind events since 19964551 / 643,015 / 3,143
Winter storm events since 19960——
Reported damage since 1996$11,00063 / 643,120 / 3,143
River crests at major flood stage0——
High tide flooding days a year, last 10 years0.0——
Months in severe drought since 189516133 / 64717 / 3,143
Medium or heavy smoke days a year, last 10 years17.116 / 641,338 / 3,143
Earthquakes M4+ within 50 mi since 1900613 / 64589 / 3,143
Earthquakes M2.5+ in the county since 1973131 / 64826 / 3,143

Neighbouring counties

Neighbouring counties
Adams County19401,579154
Boulder County11033,2131,784
Jefferson County13064,087491
Weld County300022,664194

Sources and vintage

Every number on this page comes from these public records.

  • 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 November 1, 2026.