Colorado tornado risk
Denver County has the highest tornado risk in Colorado, scoring 97.9 out of 100 — rated "Relatively High" by FEMA's National Risk Index. NOAA has recorded 414 tornado events across Colorado over the past decade.
| # | County | NRI score | Rating |
NOAA events 2016–2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denver County | 97.9 | Relatively High | 3 |
| 2 | Arapahoe County | 97.2 | Relatively High | 11 |
| 3 | El Paso County | 96.8 | Relatively High | 6 |
| 4 | Jefferson County | 96.5 | Relatively High | 0 |
| 5 | Weld County | 95.1 | Relatively High | 34 |
| 6 | Adams County | 93.4 | Relatively High | 21 |
| 7 | Douglas County | 93.4 | Relatively High | 3 |
| 8 | Boulder County | 92.6 | Relatively High | 0 |
| 9 | Larimer County | 90.6 | Relatively High | 1 |
| 10 | Logan County | 73.3 | Relatively Moderate | 22 |
| 11 | Pueblo County | 72.2 | Relatively Moderate | 2 |
| 12 | Morgan County | 66.5 | Relatively Moderate | 25 |
| 13 | Broomfield County | 61.9 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 14 | Kit Carson County | 57.5 | Relatively Low | 33 |
| 15 | Elbert County | 48.9 | Relatively Low | 5 |
| 16 | Yuma County | 45.3 | Relatively Low | 30 |
| 17 | Prowers County | 36.8 | Relatively Low | 8 |
| 18 | Otero County | 33.3 | Relatively Low | 6 |
| 19 | Phillips County | 33 | Relatively Low | 11 |
| 20 | Washington County | 32.2 | Relatively Low | 85 |
| 21 | Fremont County | 31.2 | Relatively Low | 1 |
| 22 | Teller County | 28 | Relatively Low | 5 |
| 23 | Baca County | 26.5 | Relatively Low | 7 |
| 24 | Grand County | 26.1 | Very Low | 0 |
| 25 | Lincoln County | 25.1 | Very Low | 16 |
| 26 | Sedgwick County | 23.3 | Very Low | 10 |
| 27 | Summit County | 21.8 | Very Low | 0 |
| 28 | Bent County | 19.7 | Very Low | 8 |
| 29 | Park County | 19.2 | Very Low | 5 |
| 30 | Clear Creek County | 18.7 | Very Low | 0 |
| 31 | Mesa County | 17.7 | Very Low | 0 |
| 32 | Alamosa County | 16.6 | Very Low | 0 |
| 33 | Gilpin County | 15.9 | Very Low | 0 |
| 34 | La Plata County | 15.9 | Very Low | 0 |
| 35 | Kiowa County | 15.3 | Very Low | 13 |
| 36 | Cheyenne County | 15.2 | Very Low | 23 |
| 37 | Crowley County | 14.7 | Very Low | 1 |
| 38 | Eagle County | 14.4 | Very Low | 0 |
| 39 | Las Animas County | 14.1 | Very Low | 8 |
| 40 | Rio Grande County | 13.9 | Very Low | 0 |
| 41 | Chaffee County | 12.7 | Very Low | 0 |
| 42 | Huerfano County | 11.7 | Very Low | 1 |
| 43 | Montezuma County | 10.1 | Very Low | 0 |
| 44 | Archuleta County | 9.6 | Very Low | 0 |
| 45 | Conejos County | 9.4 | Very Low | 1 |
| 46 | Garfield County | 9.2 | Very Low | 0 |
| 47 | Montrose County | 8.9 | Very Low | 0 |
| 48 | Delta County | 8.8 | Very Low | 0 |
| 49 | Lake County | 8.4 | Very Low | 0 |
| 50 | Saguache County | 8 | Very Low | 2 |
| 51 | Custer County | 7.7 | Very Low | 2 |
| 52 | Costilla County | 7.2 | Very Low | 1 |
| 53 | Pitkin County | 6.9 | Very Low | 0 |
| 54 | Gunnison County | 6.2 | Very Low | 1 |
| 55 | Routt County | 4.3 | Very Low | 1 |
| 56 | Rio Blanco County | 3.7 | Very Low | 0 |
| 57 | Jackson County | 3.4 | Very Low | 2 |
| 58 | San Miguel County | 3.4 | Very Low | 0 |
| 59 | Dolores County | 2.8 | Very Low | 0 |
| 60 | Moffat County | 2.7 | Very Low | 0 |
| 61 | Ouray County | 2.6 | Very Low | 0 |
| 62 | Mineral County | 2.3 | Very Low | 0 |
| 63 | Hinsdale County | 1.6 | Very Low | 0 |
| 64 | San Juan County | 1.6 | Very Low | 0 |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0, December 2025. Scores are 0–100 percentile rankings among all US counties. See the methodology page for definitions. Download the full CSV for all counties.
Tornado risk nationally:
Other hazard risks in Colorado:
Frequently asked questions
What is the highest tornado risk county in Colorado?
Denver County, CO has the highest tornado risk in Colorado, with a FEMA National Risk Index score of 97.9 out of 100 (rated "Relatively High").
What causes tornado risk in Colorado?
Tornado risk concentrates in the central and southern plains ("Tornado Alley") and the Southeast ("Dixie Alley"), where atmospheric conditions favor supercell thunderstorm development. The highest scores often belong to counties with significant mobile home and manufactured housing stock, which carries disproportionate tornado mortality risk.