Clear Creek County

Population 8,994 (2025) 395 sq mi

Property owners in Clear Creek County have filed 29 federal flood insurance claims since 1978, 23rd most of 64 counties in Colorado.

Hazard fingerprint for Clear Creek County Tornado: 11th percentile. Tropical: 0th percentile. Wildfire: 0th percentile. Flood: 21th percentile. Hail & wind: 6th 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 19502

At a glance

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

Flood insurance claims

29

23rd of 64 in Colorado

$43,000 paid since 1979

Details

Tornadoes since 1950

2

47th of 64 in Colorado

Fewer than the typical Colorado county, which has had 9

Details

Strongest tornado

EF0

July 28, 2012, 0.1 mile path

Largest earthquake within 50 mi

5.5magnitude

August 9, 1967, 41.7 miles away

Details

Federal disaster declarations

9

Most recent: Covid-19 Pandemic, 2020

Details

Record high

92°F

Reached 3 times, most recently July 17, 1971

Details

Record low

−28°F

January 4, 1972

Details

Snowiest season

195.9in

Winter of 1913-14

Tornadoes

About one every 38 years since 1950, none rated F3/EF3 or stronger.

Strongest

July 28, 2012

EF0, 0.1 mile path

50 yards wide.

Most recent

Saturday, July 28, 2012

EF0, 0.1 mile path

14 years ago.

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

Every recorded tornado

Tornadoes in Clear Creek County since 1950
Jul 28, 2012EF00.15000
Aug 18, 2007EF00.15000
  1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Clear Creek 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

No large wildfire has been mapped here since satellite mapping began in 1984.

Smoke overhead

Smokiest year

2021: 42 days

Heavy smoke on 21 days in 2020, the most of any year.

Last 10 years

13.8 days a year

Medium or heavy smoke, 2016 to 2025.

2025

13 days

Medium or heavy smoke. 23 so far in 2026.

Days with medium or heavy smoke overhead, by year 2011: 5 2012: 10 2013: 3 2014: 1 2015: 3 2016: 4 2017: 7 2018: 11 2019: 0 2020: 37 2021: 42 42 2022: 8 2023: 9 2024: 7 2025: 13 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

29 federal flood insurance claims since 1979, with $43,000 paid.

Federal flood insurance claims by year 2013: 5 5 2013
Claims per year since 1979. Years with fewer than five claims are not shown.

Most claims in one year

2013: 5 claims

$14,000 paid.

Claims by ZIP code

Flood insurance claims by ZIP code
804529$16,000
804398$17,000
804447$7,401

Flood events since 1996

  • Flash Flood7
  • Heavy Rain3

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

Highest river crests above flood stage
Jun 17, 1995Clear Creek (CO) near Empire6.63−0.37Action
Jun 18, 1995Clear Creek (CO) near Lawson7.11−0.39Action
Jul 8, 2011Clear Creek (CO) near Lawson7.11−0.39Action
Jun 9, 2015Leavenworth Creek (CO) above Georgetown5.06−0.44Action
May 31, 2003Clear Creek (CO) near Lawson7.04−0.46Action
May 31, 2003Clear Creek (CO) near Empire6.53−0.47Action
Jul 8, 2011Clear Creek (CO) near Empire6.46−0.54Below flood stage
Jun 9, 2016Leavenworth Creek (CO) above Georgetown4.83−0.67Below flood stage
Jun 12, 2015Clear Creek (CO) near Empire6.31−0.69Below flood stage
Jun 7, 1997Leavenworth Creek (CO) above Georgetown4.81−0.69Below flood stage
Jun 3, 2014Leavenworth Creek (CO) above Georgetown4.81−0.69Below flood stage
Jul 12, 1995Leavenworth Creek (CO) above Georgetown4.79−0.71Below flood stage
Jun 22, 1997Clear Creek (CO) near Lawson6.76−0.74Below flood stage
Jun 16, 2007Leavenworth Creek (CO) above Georgetown4.72−0.78Below flood stage
Jun 9, 1996Leavenworth Creek (CO) above Georgetown4.68−0.82Below flood stage
Jul 8, 2001Leavenworth Creek (CO) above Georgetown4.65−0.85Below flood stage
May 30, 2000Leavenworth Creek (CO) above Georgetown4.63−0.87Below flood stage
Jul 1, 2019Leavenworth Creek (CO) above Georgetown4.63−0.87Below flood stage
Jun 18, 1999Leavenworth Creek (CO) above Georgetown4.62−0.88Below flood stage
Jun 3, 2014Clear Creek (CO) near Empire6.09−0.91Below flood stage
Jun 12, 2015Clear Creek (CO) near Lawson6.59−0.91Below flood stage
Jun 11, 2010Leavenworth Creek (CO) above Georgetown4.58−0.92Below flood stage
Jun 19, 1997Clear Creek (CO) near Empire6.05−0.95Below flood stage
Jun 30, 2008Leavenworth Creek (CO) above Georgetown4.52−0.98Below flood stage
Jun 11, 2016Clear Creek (CO) near Empire6.01−0.99Below flood stage

River gauges

River gauges and their highest listed crests
Clear Creek (CO) near Empire7.06.63 ftJun 17, 19950
Clear Creek (CO) near Lawson7.57.11 ftJun 18, 19950
Leavenworth Creek (CO) above Georgetown5.55.06 ftJun 9, 20150
  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.

Drought

In severe drought or worse for 138 of 1,581 months since 1895 (9%); the longest spell lasted 25 months.

138

Months in severe drought or worse since 1895

64

Months in extreme drought

9%

Share of all months, severe or worse

Lowest reading

April 1981

−6.96, extreme drought

Longest severe spell

25 months

August 1900 to August 1902.

Latest month

September 2026

−5.08, extreme drought

Months in severe drought or worse, by year 1895: 0 1896: 0 1897: 0 1898: 0 1899: 0 1900: 5 1901: 12 12 1902: 8 1903: 0 1904: 0 1905: 0 1906: 0 1907: 0 1908: 3 1909: 0 1910: 2 1911: 6 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: 1 1926: 0 1927: 0 1928: 0 1929: 0 1930: 0 1931: 0 1932: 10 1933: 2 1934: 1 1935: 3 1936: 0 1937: 0 1938: 0 1939: 5 1940: 6 1941: 0 1942: 0 1943: 0 1944: 2 1945: 1 1946: 0 1947: 0 1948: 0 1949: 0 1950: 0 1951: 0 1952: 0 1953: 0 1954: 9 1955: 4 1956: 2 1957: 0 1958: 1 1959: 0 1960: 0 1961: 0 1962: 3 1963: 7 1964: 1 1965: 0 1966: 0 1967: 0 1968: 0 1969: 0 1970: 0 1971: 0 1972: 0 1973: 0 1974: 0 1975: 0 1976: 0 1977: 0 1978: 5 1979: 1 1980: 1 1981: 4 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: 0 1995: 1 1996: 0 1997: 0 1998: 0 1999: 0 2000: 0 2001: 0 2002: 8 2003: 1 2004: 0 2005: 0 2006: 0 2007: 0 2008: 0 2009: 0 2010: 0 2011: 0 2012: 1 2013: 2 2014: 0 2015: 0 2016: 1 2017: 0 2018: 1 2019: 0 2020: 4 2021: 4 2022: 0 2023: 0 2024: 0 2025: 1 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, volcanoes 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

5

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; 41.7 miles away, 6.2 miles deep.

Most recent, magnitude 3 or more

July 22, 2001

Magnitude 3.1

6 km WNW of Woodland Park, Colorado; 40.3 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: 1 1991: 0 1992: 0 1993: 0 1994: 1 1995: 0 1996: 0 1997: 1 1998: 0 1999: 0 2000: 0 2001: 1 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: 0 2015: 0 2016: 0 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, 19944.036.76.29 km NE of Larkspur, Colorado
Apr 2, 19814.325.75.03 km NE of Northglenn, Colorado
Nov 26, 19675.228.83.14 km NE of Derby, Colorado
Aug 9, 19675.541.76.27 km SE of Lochbuie, Colorado
Apr 27, 19674.535.23.19 km SSE of Brighton, Colorado
Apr 10, 19674.336.93.17 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.

Volcanoes within 100 miles

Volcanoes within 100 miles
Dotsero Volcanic Center58.8Moderate7,316
  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

527

Landslides mapped, probable or better

462

With a recorded date

4

Source inventories

Mapped by USGS CO Front Range July 1999 (459), CO GS (63), NASA (3), USGS Conterminous (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

36 events in the National Weather Service record, 28 of them since 1996.

14

Hail reports, 1 inch or larger

1

Hail, 2 inches or larger

2

Damaging gusts, 58 mph+

0

Winter weather events since 1996

0

Heat events since 1996

0

Cold events since 1996

Largest hail

June 9, 1991

2.00 inches

Strongest measured or estimated gust

May 22, 2006

72 mph

More event types since 1996

Other Storm Events types since 1996
Lightning4018Jun 28, 2015

Costliest events since 1996

  1. Sep 14, 2013Flash Flood$256,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The combination of heavy rain, coupled with extremely saturated ground conditions, produced additional flash flooding. According to FEMA, 113 households in the county were impacted by flooding.

  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 Georgetown, 8.9 miles from the county’s population centre, with records from 1893.

All-time high
92°F3 times, most recently Jul 17, 1971
All-time low
−28°FJan 4, 1972
Warmest night
62°F2 times, most recently Aug 14, 1960
Coldest day
−5°FJan 12, 1963
Wettest day
3.95 inMay 7, 1969
Snowiest day
63.0 inDec 4, 1913
Hottest year
1954mean 46.6°F
Coldest year
2009mean 39.3°F
Wettest year
199524.54 in
Driest year
19628.29 in
Snowiest season
195.9 in1913-14
Average monthly high and low temperature and precipitation, last 30 years, Georgetown 32°F 37° 15° 0.8 Jan 38° 15° 0.9 Feb 45° 21° 1.4 Mar 50° 26° 2.2 Apr 60° 34° 2.1 May 73° 43° 1.4 Jun 78° 49° 2.6 Jul 75° 46° 2.2 Aug 69° 40° 1.4 Sep 58° 30° 1.2 Oct 46° 22° 0.8 Nov 37° 16° 0.9 Dec Precipitation, inches
Average daily high and low by month, and average monthly precipitation, over the last 30 years.
Nights at or below freezing per year 1995: 224 1996: 211 1997: 207 1998: 223 1999: 224 2000: 210 2001: 187 2002: 226 226 2003: 215 2004: 221 2005: 202 2006: 217 2007: 200 2009: 212 2010: 208 2011: 206 2012: 193 2013: 221 2014: 200 2015: 190 2016: 202 2017: 199 2018: 197 2019: 217 2020: 202 2021: 201 2022: 212 2023: 199 2024: 203 2025: 193 199520052016
Nights at or below freezing each complete year, last 50 years. Thirty-year average: 206.8.
Snowfall by winter 1976: 76.5 in 1978: 105.9 in 1994: 131.9 in 1995: 147.7 in 1996: 154.6 in 1997: 130.0 in 1998: 109.1 in 1999: 80.9 in 2000: 96.9 in 2001: 56.3 in 2002: 155.4 in 2003: 74.7 in 2004: 86.1 in 2005: 82.4 in 2006: 162.5 in 162.5 2008: 83.0 in 2009: 80.2 in 2010: 99.6 in 2011: 81.2 in 2012: 88.6 in 2013: 125.7 in 2014: 116.5 in 2015: 98.4 in 2016: 107.0 in 2017: 76.7 in 2018: 101.7 in 2019: 112.4 in 2020: 115.7 in 2021: 79.0 in 2022: 82.8 in 2023: 112.1 in 2024: 100.6 in 2025: 52.0 in 1976200220132023
Total snowfall each winter (July to June), last 50 winters.

Median first snow

October 6

Earliest: September 3, 1961

Median last snow

May 19

Latest: June 26, 1969

0 of 57 winters had no measurable snow.

Station Georgetown (USC00053261), 8,520 ft elevation, 8.9 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 27, 2026; 98.1% 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

9 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 14, 2013FloodSevere Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and MudslidesMajor disasterDR-4145-CO
Sep 12, 2013FloodSevere Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and MudslidesEmergencyEM-3365-CO
Sep 5, 2005Coastal StormHurricane Katrina EvacuationEmergencyEM-3224-CO
Apr 9, 2003SnowstormSnowEmergencyEM-3185-CO
Jun 19, 2002FireWildfiresMajor disasterDR-1421-CO
Aug 1, 1997FloodSevere Storms, Heavy Rain, Flash Floods, Flooding, MudslidesMajor disasterDR-1186-CO
May 19, 1969FloodSevere Storms & FloodingMajor disasterDR-261-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 Clear Creek County stands among 64 counties in Colorado and 3,143 in the United States.

Ranks
Tornadoes since 1950247 / 642,866 / 3,143
Tornadoes rated F3/EF3 or stronger0——
Tropical cyclones within 50 mi0——
Hurricane-strength passes within 50 mi0——
Wildfire acres since 19840——
Flood insurance claims2923 / 641,905 / 3,143
Flood insurance paid$43,00030 / 642,524 / 3,143
Disaster declarations929 / 642,860 / 3,143
Flood events since 19961050 / 642,902 / 3,143
Hail and wind events since 19961660 / 643,084 / 3,143
Winter storm events since 19960——
Reported damage since 1996$256,00056 / 643,071 / 3,143
River crests at major flood stage0——
High tide flooding days a year, last 10 years0.0——
Months in severe drought since 189513856 / 641,233 / 3,143
Medium or heavy smoke days a year, last 10 years13.833 / 641,835 / 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
Gilpin County0004
Grand County10224,5197
Jefferson County13064,087491
Park County10036,0304
Summit County00030

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 USC00053261.
  • 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.