Dolores County

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.

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 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 (77), 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 17, 1998High Wind, Four Corners/Upper Dolores River/Cortez And Vicinity / X Sw San Miguel / W Dolores / Monteauma Except Ne$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong post-frontal winds blew over a tandem tractor-trailer rig hauling a load of computers on U.S. highway 666 about 21 miles south-southwest of Cortez.

2. Sep 22, 2013Hail$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Ping pong ball sized hail was observed at intersection of Highway 141 and County Road E.

3. Sep 7, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A large metal cattle feeder was blown several hundred feet and a 7 ton semi stock truck was blown over near the intersection of Highway 666 and County Road 4. A 40 foot wide sliding door on a large building was blown in and several large trees up to 2 feet in diameter were snapped off above the ground.

4. Apr 23, 2003Strong Wind, Four Corners / Upper Dolores River Basin$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong northwest winds howled behind a cold front in the southwest corner of Colorado. A large sprinkler irrigation system on a farm just east of Cahone was destroyed when it was slammed against utility poles, a fence, and into a barrow pit.

5. Jun 22, 2012Wildfire, Four Corners / Upper Dolores River Basin$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Weber fire was deemed to be human caused and burned a total of 10,133 acres from late June to early July. A national Type 2 fire team was brought in to fight the fire on June 24th as the fire moved toward Highway 160. Several subdivisions near Mancos were evacuated and nearby roads closed during the height of this fire. Several miles of fence posts and one outbuilding were burned. A communications tower was temporarily off line as power to the facility was interrupted by the fire.

6. Apr 12, 2023Flood$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Rapid snowmelt resulted in flooding across Road 9.7 in Dolores County, as the Dolores River overran its banks. The road was closed for a prolonged period as flood waters did not recede for several days. The accelerated snowmelt and subsequent pooling of water flooded the local high school, which damaged the gym flooring.

7. Jul 1, 2012Wildfire, Four Corners / Upper Dolores River Basin$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Weber fire was deemed to be human caused and burned a total of 10,133 acres from late June to early July. Several subdivisions near Mancos were evacuated and nearby roads closed during the height of this fire. Several miles of fence posts and one outbuilding were burned. A communications tower was temporarily off line as power to the facility was interrupted by the fire.

8. Sep 22, 2013Hail$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A negatively tilted upper trough and associated cold front swung across the 4 Corners region and incorporated monsoonal moisture to produce strong thunderstorms with large hail and heavy rainfall across southwest Colorado. The runoff from this rainfall caused flash flooding in many areas, including locations around Durango. Hail damage to personal property in La Plata County was estimated to be at least two million dollars.

9. Mar 14, 2001High Wind, Four Corners / Upper Dolores River Basin$10,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong winds ahead of a cold front toppled a few trees and tore shingles off rooftops in the vicinity of Cortez. One tree fell into a house.

10. Sep 7, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$10,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A barn was heavily damaged and some trees were blown over and snapped in two. Winds measured at the CSU extension office did not drop below 42 MPH (37 knots) for about 30 minutes.

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

96°F9 times, most recently Aug 20, 2026

All-time low

−26°FFeb 7, 1899

Warmest night

76°FJul 26, 1919

Coldest day

9°FJan 7, 1913

Wettest day

2.23 inAug 5, 1963

Snowiest day

15.5 inDec 1, 1982

Hottest year

2025mean 49.4°F

Coldest year

1912mean 43.8°F

Wettest year

195727.83 in

Driest year

20207.46 in

Snowiest season

120.5 in2018-19

Station Mancos 1SW (USC00055327), 6,897 ft elevation, 37.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1898 to October 2, 2026; 98.0% 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 USC00055327.
• 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.