Larimer County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Larimer 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 (608), USGS CO Front Range Sept 2013 (180), NASA (14), USGS Conterminous (1), USGS Seismogenic Mass Movements (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. Jul 28, 1997Flash Flood$190 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A flash flood killed 5 women and injured 40 others when a 10-15 foot wall of water surged through 2 mobile home parks. Over 8 inches of rainfall was measured in southwest Fort Collins during the evening hours as a series of storms developed, dumping heavy rain over the same area. The disaster occurred when debris apparently blocked a culvert beneath the railroad tracks adjacent to the park which flowed into Spring Creek. The normally small creek became a torrent when the dammed water jumped the railroad tracks. The highwater also derailed 4 railroad cars, compounding the catastrophe. The wall of water swept through the mobile home park destroying 108 homes and damaging 481 others,…

2. Sep 12, 2013Flood$109 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain, ranging from 6 to 12 inches through the storm event caused widespread flooding, including the entire drainage systems of the Big Thompson and Cache La Poudre Rivers. Some of the hardest hit communities included: Estes Park, Drake, Glen Haven, High Park burn area and Loveland. Most of the parks, trails and open spaces in Larimer County suffered some degree of damage. Dams in the Big Elk Meadows area failed which drained into the Little Thompson River. Multiple structures were reportedly damaged, with several rescues from the flood and infrastructure damage. Power lines were also downed. Road closure included U.S. 36, from Estes Park to CO66. Mandatory evacuations were…

3. Jun 12, 2000Wildfire$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Two large wildfires developed in the Front Range Foothills of Colorado as careless campers and very dry conditions proved to be a dangerous combination. Strong winds gusting in excess of 60 mph on the 13th, fanned the flames, spreading both wildfires out of control. The Hi Meadows wildfire, about 35 miles southwest of Denver, consumed 10,800 acres and 80 structures, mostly high priced homes. The Bobcat wildfire, located about 12 miles southwest of Fort Collins, consumed 10,600 acres and 22 structures. Mother Nature, initially a nemesis to firefighters, also played the key role in dousing the flames. Late on the 16th, a strong cold front moved into northeastern Colorado. Upslope…

4. Jun 2, 1997Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain and large hail from thunderstorms moving across eastern Larimer, northern Weld and western Logan Counties caused extensive flooding and flash flooding problems throughout the afternoon and evening hours. Rainfall totals ranged anywhere from 2 to 5 inches. Flash Floods washed out several roads and highways. Highway 14, the main highway between Fort Collins and Sterling was extensively damaged. Five bridges were damaged by floodwaters and several sections of the highway were washed out. Lone Tree Creek, near Lucerne, jumped its banks and flooded several homes. Highway 14 was closed for at least a week to repair the damage. Damage to county roads and bridges throughout…

5. Jul 20, 2021Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A debris flow moved into Black Hollow Gulch and damaged or destroyed several structures including four homes. Four people in one of the homes perished when their residence washed away in the floodwaters.

6. Jul 15, 2022Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Two people were killed when very heavy rainfall produced flash flooding in the Cameron Peak burn area.

7. Jul 31, 2023Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain produced localized flooding in downtown Fort Collins and Livermore, with standing water 1 to 3 feet deep. Vehicles were reportedly floating at the intersection of College and Mulberry in Fort Collins. Considerable street flooding was observed at several other locations. Extensive flooding occurred on the CSU campus. Trained spotter reported storm totals from 2.00 to 3.64 inches of rainfall.

8. May 9, 2015Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   High water levels prompted the release of water through the Fossil Creek Dam Spillway near Interstate 25, southwest of Ft Collins. Some road closures included: CR 23, from CR 50E to CR 52E; CR 43, from CR 51B to just east of Glen Haven; CR 15/CR 6C intersection, from CR15 to CR15A to Berthoud.

9. Jul 22, 2010Lightning$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning sparked a fire to a home in west Loveland, causing extensive damage to the roof, attic and garage.

10. Jun 11, 2023Flash Flood$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Heavy rainfall caused flooding and flash flooding in and around Fort Collins. The worst areas were south and southeast of Fort Collins towards Timnath. Locations in these areas received from 3 to 5 inches of rain. Widespread street flooding with road closures were reported. Numerous vehicles were stranded in standing water in excess of 6 inches in depth.

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

103°FJul 21, 2005

All-time low

−41°FFeb 1, 1951

Warmest night

76°FJul 31, 2006

Coldest day

−10°FFeb 4, 1989

Wettest day

4.63 inJul 29, 1997

Snowiest day

21.1 inNov 20, 1979

Hottest year

2012mean 53.5°F

Coldest year

1912mean 43.6°F

Wettest year

196128.18 in

Driest year

19667.34 in

Snowiest season

114.1 in1979-80

Station Fort Collins (USC00053005), 5,004 ft elevation, 5.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 26, 2026; 99.6% 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 USC00053005.
• 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.