Saguache County

Population 6,732 (2025) 3,169 sq mi

Large wildfires have burned 8,109 acres of Saguache County since 1984, 42nd most of 64 counties in Colorado; the largest was the Medano Fire in 2010.

Hazard fingerprint for Saguache County Tornado: 6th percentile. Tropical: 0th percentile. Wildfire: 20th percentile. Flood: 1th percentile. Hail & wind: 5th percentile. Heat: 0th percentile. Cold: 39th percentile. Winter: 98th percentile. TORTROPFIREFLOODSEVEREHEATCOLDWINTER

Hazard fingerprint Each spoke is this county’s percentile among U.S. counties where that hazard occurs. How it is computed

2026
  • Tornado damage paths since 19507
  • Wildfire burn scars since 19844

At a glance

The record for Saguache County in eight numbers. Each links to its section below.

Acres burned since 1984

8,109

42nd of 64 in Colorado

4 large fires; the largest was Medano, 2010

Details

Tornadoes since 1950

7

35th of 64 in Colorado

Fewer than the typical Colorado county, which has had 9

Details

Flood insurance claims

2

46th of 64 in Colorado

$5,442 paid since 1981

Details

Strongest tornado

F1

June 10, 1980, 19.9 mile path

Largest earthquake within 50 mi

5.5magnitude

October 11, 1960, 33.6 miles away

Details

Federal disaster declarations

9

Most recent: Covid-19 Pandemic, 2020

Details

Record high

96°F

July 5, 1989

Details

Record low

−50°F

January 28, 1948

Details

Tornadoes

About one every 11 years since 1950, none rated F3/EF3 or stronger.

Strongest

June 10, 1980

F1, 19.9 mile path

100 yards wide.

Most recent

Saturday, September 13, 2025

EF1, 0.8 mile path

Within the past year.

Tornadoes by decade Doppler radar era² 1950s: 0 1960s: 0 1970s: 0 1980s: 1 1 1990s: 2 2 2000s: 2 2 2010s: 0 2020s: 2 2 1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
Recorded tornadoes per decade. The 2020s are incomplete.
Tornadoes by month J: 0 F: 0 M: 0 A: 1 M: 0 J: 4 4 J: 1 A: 0 S: 1 O: 0 N: 0 D: 0 JFMAMJJASOND
By month of occurrence, all years.

Every recorded tornado

Tornadoes in Saguache County since 1950
Sep 13, 2025EF10.89500
Jun 9, 2024EFU0.5200
Apr 24, 2005F00.57500
Jun 5, 2000F00.25000
Jul 29, 1992F00.11000
Jun 16, 1991F16.510000
Jun 10, 1980F119.910000
  1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Saguache 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.

Hurricanes and tropical storms

No tropical storm or hurricane has tracked within 100 miles since records began in 1851.

Wildfire and smoke

8,109 acres burned in 4 large fires since 1984, equal to 0.4% of the land.

Largest

June 6, 2010

Medano Fire, 4,883 acres

4,396 acres inside Saguache County.

Most recent

September 8, 2019

Decker Fire

9,869 acres in total.

Acres burned since 1984, cumulative 2000: 322010: 4,3962016: 522019: 3,629 8,109 acres 198519901995200020052010201520202025
Running total of acres burned inside the county (line) and each year’s acres (bars).

Every large fire

Large wildfires since 1984
Decker20193,6299,869
Hayden Pass20165117,961
Medano20104,3964,883
Sand2000321,909
  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

Smokiest year

2021: 29 days

Heavy smoke on 9 days in 2020, the most of any year.

Last 10 years

9.2 days a year

Medium or heavy smoke, 2016 to 2025.

2025

13 days

Medium or heavy smoke. 17 so far in 2026.

Days with medium or heavy smoke overhead, by year 2011: 8 2012: 14 2013: 9 2014: 0 2015: 1 2016: 1 2017: 7 2018: 11 2019: 0 2020: 18 2021: 29 29 2022: 5 2023: 5 2024: 3 2025: 13 201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Days each year on which a satellite-traced plume of medium or heavy smoke covered the county’s population centre, 2011 to 2025.
  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.

Floods and flood insurance

2 federal flood insurance claims since 1981, with $5,442 paid.

Federal flood insurance claims by year
Claims per year since 1981. Years with fewer than five claims are not shown.

Flood events since 1996

  • Flash Flood6
  • Heavy Rain3

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.

Drought

In severe drought or worse for 233 of 1,581 months since 1895 (15%); the longest spell lasted 27 months.

233

Months in severe drought or worse since 1895

108

Months in extreme drought

15%

Share of all months, severe or worse

Lowest reading

August 2002

−7.91, extreme drought

Longest severe spell

27 months

June 2011 to August 2013.

Latest month

September 2026

−4.71, extreme drought

Months in severe drought or worse, by year 1895: 0 1896: 0 1897: 0 1898: 0 1899: 0 1900: 2 1901: 12 12 1902: 10 1903: 0 1904: 7 1905: 0 1906: 1 1907: 0 1908: 0 1909: 0 1910: 0 1911: 0 1912: 0 1913: 0 1914: 0 1915: 0 1916: 0 1917: 0 1918: 0 1919: 0 1920: 0 1921: 0 1922: 0 1923: 0 1924: 0 1925: 11 1926: 2 1927: 0 1928: 0 1929: 0 1930: 1 1931: 1 1932: 0 1933: 4 1934: 6 1935: 3 1936: 0 1937: 0 1938: 0 1939: 5 1940: 10 1941: 0 1942: 0 1943: 2 1944: 0 1945: 0 1946: 4 1947: 0 1948: 0 1949: 0 1950: 9 1951: 10 1952: 0 1953: 0 1954: 0 1955: 3 1956: 4 1957: 0 1958: 0 1959: 2 1960: 0 1961: 0 1962: 0 1963: 8 1964: 5 1965: 0 1966: 0 1967: 2 1968: 0 1969: 0 1970: 0 1971: 0 1972: 0 1973: 0 1974: 0 1975: 0 1976: 0 1977: 4 1978: 0 1979: 0 1980: 0 1981: 6 1982: 0 1983: 0 1984: 0 1985: 0 1986: 0 1987: 0 1988: 0 1989: 0 1990: 2 1991: 0 1992: 0 1993: 0 1994: 0 1995: 0 1996: 0 1997: 0 1998: 0 1999: 0 2000: 0 2001: 0 2002: 10 2003: 12 2004: 7 2005: 0 2006: 3 2007: 0 2008: 0 2009: 0 2010: 0 2011: 7 2012: 12 2013: 8 2014: 0 2015: 0 2016: 0 2017: 0 2018: 10 2019: 2 2020: 8 2021: 6 2022: 5 2023: 0 2024: 1 2025: 0 18951905191519251935194519551965197519851995200520152025
Months each year with a Palmer index of −3 or lower, 1895 to 2025. Twelve means the whole year.
  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.

Earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides

3 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles since 1900; the largest was magnitude 5.5 in 1960.

0

Magnitude 2.5+ inside the county since 1973

30

Magnitude 3+ within 50 miles since 1973

3

Magnitude 4+ within 50 miles since 1900

1

Magnitude 5+ within 50 miles since 1900

Largest within 50 miles

October 11, 1960

Magnitude 5.5

15 km E of Colona, Colorado; 33.6 miles away, 30.4 miles deep.

Most recent, magnitude 3 or more

March 10, 2023

Magnitude 3.6

16 km S of Ophir, Colorado; 49.2 miles away.

Earthquakes of magnitude 3 or more within 50 miles, by year 1973: 0 1974: 0 1975: 0 1976: 0 1977: 0 1978: 0 1979: 0 1980: 0 1981: 0 1982: 0 1983: 1 1984: 0 1985: 1 1986: 5 5 1987: 0 1988: 1 1989: 1 1990: 0 1991: 1 1992: 1 1993: 0 1994: 0 1995: 0 1996: 0 1997: 0 1998: 0 1999: 0 2000: 0 2001: 0 2002: 0 2003: 3 2004: 0 2005: 0 2006: 3 2007: 0 2008: 3 2009: 0 2010: 0 2011: 0 2012: 0 2013: 0 2014: 0 2015: 1 2016: 1 2017: 3 2018: 1 2019: 3 2020: 0 2021: 0 2022: 0 2023: 1 2024: 0 2025: 0 19731978198319881993199820032008201320182023
Per year, 1973 to 2025.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

Earthquakes of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles
Dec 30, 20174.046.42.515 km N of Weston, Colorado
Feb 5, 19624.736.015.515 km ENE of Ridgway, Colorado
Oct 11, 19605.533.630.415 km E of Colona, Colorado
  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

Volcanoes within 100 miles
Dotsero Volcanic Center85.5Moderate7,316
  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

116

Landslides mapped, probable or better

0

With a recorded date

1

Source inventory

Mapped by CO GS (116).

  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.

Severe weather and other events

628 events in the National Weather Service record, 616 of them since 1996.

13

Hail reports, 1 inch or larger

0

Hail, 2 inches or larger

3

Damaging gusts, 58 mph+

466

Winter weather events since 1996

0

Heat events since 1996

7

Cold events since 1996

Largest hail

July 19, 1988

1.75 inches

Strongest measured or estimated gust

June 3, 2005

81 mph

More event types since 1996

Other Storm Events types since 1996
Lightning111Jul 27, 2003
Debris flows210Jul 22, 2025
Avalanches664Dec 25, 2017

Costliest events since 1996

  1. Feb 22, 1996High Wind, Northern Sangre De Cristo Mountains Above 11000 Ft$150,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    High winds occurred along the lee slopes of the Rampart Range and Wet Mountains in the morning hours. Winds gusted to over 60 knots throughout much of that area...with a peak gust of 76 knots at Monument in El Paso county. Winds at the Air Force Academy gusted to 72 knots. Damage to roofs...shingles and fences was seen in western Colorado Springs and over 2,600 homes lost power for between 2 and 6 hours. Beulah...in western Pueblo county had a peak wind gust of 64 knots. A few mobile homes in Williamsburg in Fremont county were rolled over and a few people had minor injuries. Around 1,100 customers lost power in Pueblo for an hour. Two mobile homes in transit on Interstate 25 were…

  2. Jun 3, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Microburst thunderstorm winds caused significant roof damage to the elementary school in Moffat.

  3. Jul 25, 1999Flash Flood$65,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Heavy rainfall flooded Saguache Creek and its tributaries both north and south of highway 114. County roads and a few bridges were washed out. Property adjacent to the creeks was inundated, washing out driveways to ranch houses and destroying some hay fields.

  4. Sep 22, 2013Thunderstorm Wind$10,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A severe wind on the southern edge of a storm knocked down around three dozen trees, and broke a few windows and did some roof damage to structures southeast of Crestone.

  5. May 24, 2010High Wind, Del Norte Vicinity / Northern San Luis Valley Below 8500 Ft$4,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Gradient winds...gusting up to 75 mph caused damage...especially over portions of El Paso and Pueblo Counties. Several large trees were uprooted in the Monte Vista area in Rio Grande County. A modular building was flipped on its top by the wind in Pueblo West. A few trees were also uprooted in the City of Pueblo. Winds caused power lines to come down in Manitou Springs, which sparked several small grass fires near the Pikes Peak Cog Railway. Three hangers at Peterson Air Force Base were evacuated, and some minor roof damage occurred. Some trees were uprooted in the greater Colorado Springs area. On Fort Carson, eight soldiers were injured when a tent they were setting up blew…

  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.

Weather records

From Alamosa-bergman Field, 34.5 miles from the county’s population centre, with records from 1948.

All-time high
96°FJul 5, 1989
All-time low
−50°FJan 28, 1948
Warmest night
59°F7 times, most recently Jul 29, 2026
Coldest day
0°FDec 7, 1964
Wettest day
1.77 inSep 30, 1959
Snowiest day
15.8 inDec 13, 1967
Hottest year
2025mean 45.1°F
Coldest year
1992mean 38.1°F
Wettest year
196911.55 in
Driest year
19563.40 in
Snowiest season
97.5 in1972-73
Average monthly high and low temperature and precipitation, last 30 years, Alamosa-bergman Field 32°F 36° 0° 0.3 Jan 42° 8° 0.3 Feb 53° 17° 0.5 Mar 61° 24° 0.5 Apr 70° 33° 0.6 May 81° 41° 0.5 Jun 84° 48° 1.0 Jul 82° 46° 1.1 Aug 75° 38° 1.0 Sep 63° 25° 0.8 Oct 50° 12° 0.3 Nov 37° 2° 0.3 Dec Precipitation, inches
Average daily high and low by month, and average monthly precipitation, over the last 30 years.
Nights at or below freezing per year 1976: 226 1977: 222 1978: 237 1979: 225 1980: 237 1981: 211 1982: 225 1983: 227 1984: 217 1985: 210 1986: 226 1987: 232 1988: 234 1989: 234 1990: 222 1991: 231 1992: 218 1993: 229 1994: 225 1995: 236 1996: 232 1997: 217 1998: 237 1999: 226 2000: 229 2001: 223 2002: 235 2003: 232 2004: 236 2005: 223 2006: 228 2007: 215 2008: 246 246 2009: 217 2010: 216 2011: 233 2012: 229 2013: 239 2014: 217 2015: 203 2016: 220 2017: 213 2018: 216 2019: 232 2020: 225 2021: 231 2022: 217 2023: 224 2024: 222 2025: 225 19761986199620062016
Nights at or below freezing each complete year, last 50 years. Thirty-year average: 225.3.
Snowfall by winter 1976: 29.9 in 1977: 24.2 in 1978: 38.3 in 1979: 37.2 in 1980: 10.1 in 1981: 24.8 in 1982: 33.2 in 1983: 36.9 in 1984: 26.9 in 1985: 34.0 in 1986: 43.6 in 1987: 27.3 in 1988: 14.5 in 1989: 35.0 in 1990: 27.3 in 1991: 54.3 in 1992: 32.0 in 1993: 22.0 in 1994: 27.0 in 1995: 12.6 in 1996: 36.1 in 1997: 25.4 in 1998: 22.0 in 1999: 10.5 in 2000: 23.1 in 2001: 18.0 in 2002: 14.1 in 2003: 27.5 in 2004: 33.1 in 2005: 14.9 in 2006: 35.9 in 2007: 37.7 in 2008: 31.1 in 2009: 30.5 in 2010: 10.5 in 2011: 19.0 in 2012: 21.1 in 2013: 39.8 in 2014: 23.9 in 2015: 43.0 in 2016: 42.2 in 2017: 9.1 in 2018: 54.9 in 54.9 2019: 16.8 in 2020: 48.5 in 2021: 19.5 in 2022: 20.8 in 2023: 30.9 in 2024: 30.5 in 2025: 11.1 in 19761986199620062016
Total snowfall each winter (July to June), last 50 winters.

Median first snow

October 30

Earliest: September 8, 2020

Median last snow

April 30

Latest: June 13, 1983

0 of 78 winters had no measurable snow.

Station Alamosa-bergman Field (USW00023061), 7,537 ft elevation, 34.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 100.0% 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.

Federal disaster declarations

9 since 1953. The most recent: Covid-19 Pandemic, March 28, 2020.

Federal disaster declarations
Mar 28, 2020BiologicalCovid-19 PandemicMajor disasterDR-4498-CO
Mar 13, 2020BiologicalCovid-19EmergencyEM-3436-CO
Jul 16, 2015FloodSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and MudslidesMajor disasterDR-4229-CO
Sep 5, 2005Coastal StormHurricane Katrina EvacuationEmergencyEM-3224-CO
Apr 9, 2003SnowstormSnowEmergencyEM-3185-CO
Jun 19, 2002FireWildfiresMajor disasterDR-1421-CO
Jul 27, 1984FloodSevere Storms, Mudslides, Landslides & FloodingMajor disasterDR-719-CO
Jan 29, 1977DroughtDroughtEmergencyEM-3025-CO
Sep 22, 1970FloodHeavy Rains & FloodingMajor disasterDR-293-CO

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.

How this compares

Where Saguache County stands among 64 counties in Colorado and 3,143 in the United States.

Ranks
Tornadoes since 1950735 / 642,459 / 3,143
Tornadoes rated F3/EF3 or stronger0——
Tropical cyclones within 50 mi0——
Hurricane-strength passes within 50 mi0——
Wildfire acres since 19848,10942 / 64852 / 3,143
Flood insurance claims246 / 642,727 / 3,143
Flood insurance paid$5,44241 / 642,759 / 3,143
Disaster declarations929 / 642,860 / 3,143
Flood events since 1996951 / 642,928 / 3,143
Hail and wind events since 199612537 / 642,588 / 3,143
Winter storm events since 199646616 / 6462 / 3,143
Reported damage since 1996$329,00054 / 643,060 / 3,143
River crests at major flood stage0——
High tide flooding days a year, last 10 years0.0——
Months in severe drought since 18952339 / 64146 / 3,143
Medium or heavy smoke days a year, last 10 years9.256 / 642,760 / 3,143
Earthquakes M4+ within 50 mi since 1900337 / 64949 / 3,143
Earthquakes M2.5+ in the county since 19730——

Neighbouring counties

Neighbouring counties
Alamosa County1601,87918
Chaffee County102,2387
Custer County9027,6871
Fremont County9031,49272
Gunnison County103,25340
Hinsdale County0040,2401
Huerfano County8093,3415
Mineral County1077,4300
Rio Grande County309,39711

Sources and vintage

Every number on this page comes from these public records.

  • 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 USW00023061.
  • 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.