Hinsdale 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.

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.

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 (59).

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. Jan 6, 2005Avalanche, Northwestern San Juan Mountains$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A prolonged period of moderate to heavy snow and strong winds resulted in one of the most widespread natural avalanche cycles in decades. The snow started Friday night 1/7, and effectively cleared out Wednesday morning, 1/12. Many avalanche paths ran full track, taking out mature timber, and several slides came out that haven't affected area roads in years. Avalanches caused closures of Red Mountain, Molas and Coal Bank Passes among other road closures. The spree of avalanches closed Red Mountain Pass for nearly a week before plow drivers broke through the last 30 feet to 40 feet of snow covering the road. One slide struck a Front Range Wireless/Verizon Cell building that had been…

2. Aug 16, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong winds toppled several large cottonwood trees, causing extensive damage to a residence. Approximately 70 percent of the roof to the residence was caved in.

3. Jul 17, 1996Flash Flood$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding occurred along an eight mile stretch from Lake City to about 2 miles southwest of Lake San Cristobal. Mud and rock slides covered roads and flowed onto residental properties. Several roads were washed out in places. It took over 3 weeks for road crews to repair roads and remove debris which included large boulders. 1.50 inches of rain was reported in a 45 minute period at Lake City. Heavier rainfall was estimated upstream around the Lake San Cristobal area.

4. Sep 29, 2019High Wind, Northwestern San Juan Mountains$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A trained weather spotter in Telluride had estimated wind gusts up to 60 MPH. These high winds led to a mature tree becoming uprooted. The tree fell on a nearby truck and broke the windshield and smashed the front of the vehicle.

5. Dec 1, 2008Winter Weather, Northwestern San Juan Mountains$15,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Snowfall of 5 to 12 inches occurred with locally higher amounts, including 17 inches at Red Mountain Pass. Wind gusts of 40 to 70 mph produced blowing and drifting snow. Electrical power was lost on Friday, November 27 for about 1,500 customers across portions of La Plata and Archuleta counties. The power outages were due to heavy wet snow that weighed down the lines and caused many power lines to snap. See the November 2008 Storm Data publication for the beginning of this event.

6. Nov 29, 2008Winter Weather, Northwestern San Juan Mountains$15,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This event continued into the month of December. Snowfall of 5 to 12 inches occurred with locally higher amounts, including 17 inches at Red Mountain Pass. Wind gusts of 40 to 70 mph produced blowing and drifting snow. Electrical power was lost on Friday, November 27 for about 1,500 customers across portions of La Plata and Archuleta counties. The power outages were due to heavy, wet snow that weighed down the lines and caused many power lines to snap. The outages lasted until about midday Saturday. For a continuation of this event please see the December 2008 Storm Data publication.

7. Jul 30, 2006Debris Flow, Northwestern San Juan Mountains$10,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A rockslide fell onto Camp Bird Road just south of Ouray and killed the driver of a Jeep when a boulder crashed through the roof of the vehicle. A passenger received minor injuries.

8. Feb 15, 2006Strong Wind, Northwestern San Juan Mountains$6,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong southwest flow ahead of a cold front produced sustained winds of 25 to 50 mph with gusts from 55 to 70 mph. Locally stronger gusts included 84 mph at the top of Snowmass Ski Area, 96 mph at the top of Telluride Ski Area, and 108 mph on Eagle Mountain in the southwest San Juan Mountains. Numerous trees were blown down and some ski areas had to remove downed trees from the slopes. A few power outages were reported across the area.

9. Aug 3, 2019Debris Flow$5,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Showers and thunderstorms produced heavy rain which led to multiple mudslides along County Road 30 near Cinnamon Pass. The road was closed for an extended period of time. Several vehicles were stuck behind the mudslide and the occupants had to be rescued by Search and Rescue.

10. Dec 3, 2013Winter Storm, Northwestern San Juan Mountains$5,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Snowfall totals of 10 to 20 inches were measured across the area. Wind gusts of 25 to 50 mph produced extensive blowing and drifting snow and areas of blizzard conditions. Even stronger gusts were measured on ridgetops, including 83 mph at Mount Abrahms and 76 mph on Mount Putney. The Dynamo weather station above Telluride was destroyed by the strong winds.

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

95°FAug 17, 1996

All-time low

−45°FJan 30, 1979

Warmest night

56°FJul 19, 2023

Coldest day

−4°FJan 6, 1971

Wettest day

4.70 inDec 12, 2007

Snowiest day

30.0 inDec 14, 1967

Hottest year

2018mean 40.1°F

Coldest year

1922mean 30.4°F

Wettest year

192136.83 in

Driest year

19798.12 in

Snowiest season

173.5 in1964-65

Station Hermit 8 Se (USC00053951), 8,949 ft elevation, 20.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1920 to October 24, 2026; 94.8% 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 USC00053951.
• 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.