La Plata County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within La Plata 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 (811), NASA (12), USGS Post-Fire Debris Flows (11).

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. Jul 1, 2002Wildfire$8.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Missionary Ridge fire began in early June (see the June 2002 Storm Data publication) and was contained on July 17th . The fire destroyed approximately 50 homes and 22 other structures. The fire consumed over 70,000 acres. The cost of fighting the fire exceeded 40 million dollars.

2. Jul 1, 2002Wildfire$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Valley Fire was ignited by lightning in the Falls Creek area adjacent to the Animas Valley in late June (see June 2002 Storm Data publication). 22 homes in the Falls Creek subdivision were destroyed. The Valley Fire consumed 400 acres and became part of the Missionary Ridge Fire Complex. The complex was contained on July 17th.

3. Jul 24, 2018Flash Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Major flooding, mud and rockslides occurred in the Animas Valley along the Colorado Highway 550 corridor between mile markers 33 and 37. Fast moving flood waters and debris flowed in excess of 6 feet deep in places. About 6 feet of debris blocked Highway 550. The highway was closed for approximately 4.5 hours for debris cleanup. The flood waters and debris also flowed across the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad tracks which lead the train to stop and, as a result of the closure of the highway, about 800 passengers were stranded north of Durango. A section of the railroad track was heavily damaged. Significant damage occurred in the Whispering Pines and Pine Acres…

4. Sep 7, 2002Flash Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding was widespread along the east side of the Animas Valley. Very large debris flows accompanied the flash floods. Two large houses in the path of the flows incurred extensive damage. Two mobile homes were knocked off their foundations. And some sheds were heavily damaged or destroyed. Mud, large trees, and boulders the size of cars covered many sections of county roads and residential properties up to 10 feet deep. A six mile section of irrigation canal was completely filled with debris. 750 people were evacuated from the Bar D Chuckwagon restaurant after being trapped for nearly three hours.

5. Apr 29, 1999Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A thunderstorm which moved up from the south produced strong outflow winds which destroyed or damaged many commercial buildings and houses, especially in the Gem Village area. Thousands of trees up to 2 feet in diameter and 60 feet tall were snapped off, generally 10 to 12 feet above the ground. An aluminum boat was found wrapped around a power pole.

6. Oct 6, 2006Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A persistent fetch of subtropical moisture brought heavy rainfall to La Plata County in southwest Colorado for two consecutive days, October 5th and 6th. The two-day rainfall amounts in the areas of heaviest flooding ranged from 1.99 to 3.51 inches. The first reports of flooding and flash flooding came from the La Plata County Sheriff's office at 1530 MST on Friday October 6th, when flooding had occurred along County Road 250 north of Durango and also near Vallecito Reservoir. In the community of North Vallecito, a 44 foot self contained RV, a cabin, and a shed were carried by the flood waters down Vallecito Creek and totally destroyed, with pieces ending up in Vallecito…

7. Jul 27, 2021Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain washed out a culvert on La Plata County Road 309A near Durango-La Plata County Airport. The road was closed for several days for repair work. The Durango Airport received 1.34 inches of rain with storms that day.

8. Aug 3, 2002Flash Flood$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding and mudslides occurred in several drainages along County Road 501, on the west side of Vallecito Reservoir, and in the Vallecito community. Five to eight feet of debris covered roads in some locations and 2 to 3 feet of mud and debris flowed into and around several homes and businesses. A car was pushed 35 feet down a road and into a tree.

9. Jul 23, 2002Flash Flood$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash floods with heavy debris content cascaded across County Road 240, near where the road intersects with County Road 243. A wall of water 12 to 15 feet high came roaring down Shearer Creek. Further down the road from Shearer Creek, five vehicles (four with occupants) were swept off the road and into flooded streams. The flash flood waters were accompanied by large trees up to 2 feet in diameter and boulders up to 4 feet in diameter. Debris up to 8 feet deep was deposited on the road and private properties. Debris four feet deep covered a bridge. At least one house was damaged and a parked truck was heavily damaged. The force of the water and debris tore out a 50 foot section of…

10. Nov 8, 1998Winter Storm, Animas River Basin/Durango And Vicinity$300,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A cold and moist Pacific trough produced the first major winter storm of the season for western Colorado. 8 to 24 inches of snow fell in most mountain areas. 6 to 10 inches accumulated in most lower elevation areas of west-central and southwest Colorado. Some of the largest snow totals included 25 inches at Telluride, 24 inches at Purgatory Ski Area, 24 inches at Molas Pass and Coal Bank Pass, 24 inches as Aspen Ski Area, 19 inches near Ouray, 17 inches at Fort Lewis, 16 inches at Crested Butte, 15 inches near Pagosa Springs, and 15 inches on the Grand Mesa. Windy conditions produced areas of blowing a drifting snow in the mountains. A gust to 67 MPH was measured on the mountains…

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

99°F2 times, most recently Jul 17, 2023

All-time low

−27°FJan 1, 2011

Warmest night

67°FJul 18, 2006

Coldest day

9°FFeb 2, 2011

Wettest day

3.68 inSep 9, 2003

Hottest year

2025mean 49.4°F

Coldest year

1997mean 44.7°F

Wettest year

201520.05 in

Driest year

20186.56 in

Station Durango La Plata County Airport (USW00093005), 6,629 ft elevation, 8.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1996 to October 26, 2026; 99.5% 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 USW00093005.
• 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.