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 Each spoke is this county’s percentile among U.S. counties where that hazard occurs. How it is computed
- 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.
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.
Every recorded tornado
| Sep 13, 2025 | EF1 | 0.8 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 9, 2024 | EFU | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr 24, 2005 | F0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 5, 2000 | F0 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 29, 1992 | F0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 16, 1991 | F1 | 6.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 10, 1980 | F1 | 19.9 | 0 | 0 |
- Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Saguache County: 0.
- 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.
Every large fire
| Decker | 2019 | 3,629 | 9,869 |
| Hayden Pass | 2016 | 51 | 17,961 |
| Medano | 2010 | 4,396 | 4,883 |
| Sand | 2000 | 32 | 1,909 |
- 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.
- 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.
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
- 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
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.
Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles
| Dec 30, 2017 | 4.0 | 46.4 |
| Feb 5, 1962 | 4.7 | 36.0 |
| Oct 11, 1960 | 5.5 | 33.6 |
- 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).
- 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
| Dotsero Volcanic Center | 85.5 | Moderate |
- 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).
- 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
| Lightning | 1 | 1 |
| Debris flows | 2 | 1 |
| Avalanches | 6 | 6 |
Costliest events since 1996
- 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…
- Jun 3, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
National Weather Service narrative
Microburst thunderstorm winds caused significant roof damage to the elementary school in Moffat.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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…
- 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
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.
| Mar 28, 2020 | Biological | DR-4498-CO |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | EM-3436-CO |
| Jul 16, 2015 | Flood | DR-4229-CO |
| Sep 5, 2005 | Coastal Storm | EM-3224-CO |
| Apr 9, 2003 | Snowstorm | EM-3185-CO |
| Jun 19, 2002 | Fire | DR-1421-CO |
| Jul 27, 1984 | Flood | DR-719-CO |
| Jan 29, 1977 | Drought | EM-3025-CO |
| Sep 22, 1970 | Flood | DR-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.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 7 | 35 / 64 |
| Tornadoes rated F3/EF3 or stronger | 0 | — |
| Tropical cyclones within 50 mi | 0 | — |
| Hurricane-strength passes within 50 mi | 0 | — |
| Wildfire acres since 1984 | 8,109 | 42 / 64 |
| Flood insurance claims | 2 | 46 / 64 |
| Flood insurance paid | $5,442 | 41 / 64 |
| Disaster declarations | 9 | 29 / 64 |
| Flood events since 1996 | 9 | 51 / 64 |
| Hail and wind events since 1996 | 125 | 37 / 64 |
| Winter storm events since 1996 | 466 | 16 / 64 |
| Reported damage since 1996 | $329,000 | 54 / 64 |
| River crests at major flood stage | 0 | — |
| High tide flooding days a year, last 10 years | 0.0 | — |
| Months in severe drought since 1895 | 233 | 9 / 64 |
| Medium or heavy smoke days a year, last 10 years | 9.2 | 56 / 64 |
| Earthquakes M4+ within 50 mi since 1900 | 3 | 37 / 64 |
| Earthquakes M2.5+ in the county since 1973 | 0 | — |
Neighbouring counties
| Alamosa County | 16 | 0 |
| Chaffee County | 1 | 0 |
| Custer County | 9 | 0 |
| Fremont County | 9 | 0 |
| Gunnison County | 1 | 0 |
| Hinsdale County | 0 | 0 |
| Huerfano County | 8 | 0 |
| Mineral County | 1 | 0 |
| Rio Grande County | 3 | 0 |
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.