Phillips County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jul 4, 2006Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Stong thunderstorm winds ruptured a large storage bin containing 85,000-90,000 bushels of popcorn at Jack's Bean Company southeast of Holyoke. When the large bin ruptured, the collapse damaged two smaller 55,000 bushel bins adjacent to it. In addition, a trailer and shed were extensively damaged.

2. Nov 6, 2008High Wind, Phillips County$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Very intense winds developed across the Northeast Plains of Colorado following the passage of a storm system. In Phillips County, damage was reported at Holyoke. Extensive structural damage was observed at a local gas station, a city storage shed and a main street business. One person was injured when attempting to clean up debris around the storage shed. A piece of tin flew off a nearby roof and struck the woman in the forehead. She suffered a large cut that required several stitches. ||In addition, a wind tower at the airport was knocked down. Several homeowners in and around Holyoke reported damage. Damage reports ranged from missing shingles and broken windows to trees falling…

3. Mar 6, 2017Wildfire, Phillips County$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   High wind gusts ranging from 60 to 70 mph allowed a grassfire to quickly spread from Logan into extreme parts of southwest Sedgwick and northwest Phillips Counties. The fire started just northeast of Sterling and within eight hours, it had had raced 23 miles across Interstate 76 into Phillips County, toward Haxtun. Officials declared a State of Emergency for Logan County. County officials sent out 900 pre-evacuation notices, and evacuated schools in Fleming, Haxtun and Iliff. Colorado Highway 59 was closed in both directions from Interstate 76 to Haxtun, where 15 to 20 power poles were damaged. The blowing dust and smoke reduced visibilities in the area. The American Red Cross has…

4. May 20, 2001High Wind, Phillips County$279,000
   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…

5. Jun 12, 2007Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A slow moving low pressure system allowed for heavy rain to fall over parts of Northeastern Colorado, affecting primarily Sedgwick and Phillips Counties. Severe thunderstorms produce large hail and very heavy rain. Downed power lines were reported over parts of Sedgwick County on the 11th. Farmers in the area reported extensive flooding over southeastern Sedwick County from around Sixteen-mile Corner east to the Nebraska state line. Several basements were also flooded. ||In addition, extensive flooding and flash flooding forced dozens of road closures in northeast Phillips County. Colorado Highway 23; east of Amherst, and U.S. Highway 6; east of Holyoke, were closed due to…

6. Jun 1, 2009Flash Flood$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Floodwaters up to one foot in depth were reportedly running over U.S. Highway 385. In addition, flash flooding from heavy rains washed out portions of several roads between County Roads 10 and 21.

7. Jun 11, 2010Flash Flood$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain washed out sections of 20 country roads in Phillips County.

8. Aug 19, 2021Flash Flood$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms produced very heavy rain in southeast Phillips County. Local law enforcement reported several roads were flooded southeast of Holyoke. Rainfall measurements from 4 to 9 inches were reported. Several houses had water rise up to the front doors. Significant flash flooding was observed 6 miles east of Holyoke on U.S. Highway 6. Widespread flooding of roads, ditches, and fields was reported. At least one road crossing Frenchman Creek was impassable. Frenchman Creek and other streams had significant flooding as well.

9. Aug 3, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong thunderstorm winds downed a tree which crashed on to a home. The force of the blow punctured a hole in the ceiling, and knocked drywall into the laundry room.

10. Jun 18, 2009Hail$20,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A severe thunderstorm caused extensive damage to wheat and corn crops in the immediate area. Out of 104,000 planted acres of wheat in Phillips County; 3,000 were destroyed. Sixty thousand additional acres were damaged. Out of 102,000 planted acres of corn in the county; 2,000 were completely destroyed and 20,500 were damaged.

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

110°F4 times, most recently Jun 27, 2012

All-time low

−36°FFeb 12, 1899

Warmest night

77°FJul 9, 2000

Coldest day

−9°F2 times, most recently Feb 4, 1989

Wettest day

4.55 inJul 29, 1936

Snowiest day

20.0 inMar 11, 1977

Hottest year

1954mean 52.9°F

Coldest year

2019mean 47.1°F

Wettest year

191529.07 in

Driest year

20229.69 in

Snowiest season

67.5 in1972-73

Station Holyoke (USC00054082), 3,780 ft elevation, 4.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1897 to October 27, 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 USC00054082.
• 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.