Morgan County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Morgan 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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 15, 2013Flood$30.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The preliminary damage assessment included: $1,510,800 for Residential Property Damage; $4,560,000 for County Bridge Infrastructure: $3,350,000 for County Asphault Infrastructure; and $786,000 for Gravel Road Infrastructure. Most of the damage to the city was sustained in Riverside Park. The city estimated a total cost of the flood at $20 million, including damages and expenditures. Agricultural producers in Morgan County saw little damage from the flood overall.

2. May 22, 1998Hail$2.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Large hail pummelled the towns of Greeley, Brush and Fort Morgan. In Brush, some roofs collapsed under the deluge and one roof was blown off. Two people received minor injuries. One woman was injured, while in her home, when large hail broke through the window. Hundreds of cars were also damaged and some were stuck in the hail, up to 18 inches deep, until snowplows could clear the roads off. Crops were shredded during the hailstorm and fields flooded. Approximately 140,000 acres of cropland in and around Brush were devastated. Damage estimates to homes and vehicle in the Greeley, Brush and Fort Morgan areas was estimated at $2.2 million. In addition, crop losses from the storm…

3. Jul 29, 1997Flash Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Radar estimates of 5 to 6 inches of rainfall were observed over northern portions of Morgan County during the evening hours. The brunt of the flooding occurred between 10 pm and 12 am lst when the Weldona Valley Ditch broke. The ensuing floodwaters, up to 4 feet deep, inundated the entire town. Approximately 50 families had to be evacuated, many from their rooftops. Although no dollar estimate was available, 48 homes were damaged, 13 extensively, as well as at least 30 vehicles. Several homes had to be condemned. In addition, $2.0 million in damage was reported to roads, businesses and public buildings in town.

4. May 9, 2015Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The combination of saturating rains in the first part of May, and the May 8th and 9th heavy rain storms, produced more water than the creeks and drainages could handle. Flooding due to rain water started to move east through the county washing over county roads, both dirt and pavement).The southwest and northeast portions of the county were greatly affected and the majority of roads in these areas we impassable by vehicle due to water either running over the roads or water cutting trenches through the road. County roads throughout Morgan County were inundated by floodwaters. Some parts of the county received at least 10 inches of rainfall over a two week period.

5. May 10, 2023Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down east of Woodrow and tracked north-northeast across Morgan County. The tornado struck a sturdy residence; it uplifted and removed the roof from the home which exposed portions of the second floor. The tornado also damaged the roof of a nearby barn, destroyed to small storage sheds and uprooted some trees on the property.

6. May 20, 2001High Wind, Morgan County$259,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Intense winds developed as a vigorous cold front, accompanied by a line of thunderstorms, spilled over the Cheyenne Ridge and moved rapidly across the Urban Corridor and Northeast Plains. Peak wind gusts to 83 mph (72 kts) downed trees and power lines. Approximately 32,000 Xcel customers in Weld, Boulder, Lafayette, Littleton, central Denver and Aurora were without electricity for up to two hours. Zero visibilities were reported due to blowing dust, dirt and other flying debris. As a result, a multi-vehicle accident occured along U.S. Highway 85, between Greeley and Fort Lupton. Six people were treated for minor injuries. Several vehicles, including semi trailers, were reportedly…

7. May 30, 1996Tornado$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Twin tornadoes developed 5 miles southwest of Fort Morgan. Although one of the twisters dissipated quickly; the other caused substantial damage to a farmstead. A teenager trapped in the home was uninjured when he took shelter in the basement. The tornado lifted the roof off the house temporarily and broke several windows. Also, the roof of a vacant dairy barn nearby was completely torn off. A car, 2 dump trucks and 2 pickups used in the families' tree service business were completely destroyed. One dog and several of the family cats were killed. Debris was spread approximately 300 yards across the area.Not too far away, the tornado also tossed an empty 5,000 gallon propane storage…

8. Jun 15, 2015Flood$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A levee breach along the South Platte River produced farmland flooding over northeast Morgan County. Morgan County Road 7 was also washed out.

9. Jun 10, 1997Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Powerful thunderstorm winds lifted two barns from their foundations and levelled them. In addition, two grain bins were damaged, power poles and lines were downed causing scattered outages around the area. Several automobiles and other structures were damaged by falling trees. Heavy rain associated with the storms also caused localized flooding problems. Approximately 30,000 acres of crops in Morgan County were damaged. Corn crops experienced a 10 percent loss, beet and alfalfa crops incurred a 5 percent loss.

10. Jul 24, 2016Flash Flood$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Heavy rain, an estimated 2 to 4 inches in 30 minutes, produced extensive flooding of streets, businesses and basements in town.

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

109°F2 times, most recently Aug 2, 1938

All-time low

−29°FFeb 1, 1951

Warmest night

76°FAug 22, 2023

Coldest day

−12°FFeb 4, 1989

Wettest day

5.50 inJul 26, 1957

Snowiest day

18.0 inDec 25, 1982

Hottest year

2012mean 53.3°F

Coldest year

1951mean 46.0°F

Wettest year

198724.20 in

Driest year

20027.81 in

Station Akron Washington County Airport (USW00024015), 4,685 ft elevation, 30.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1937 to October 26, 2026; 98.9% 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 USW00024015.
• 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.
• 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.