Colorado
Colorado holds the records: most expensive hailstorm, most destructive suburban wildfire, and some of the deadliest flash floods in American history. The Front Range corridor where most people live sits at the intersection of all of them.
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Know your region
Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins. Five million people live along the I-25 corridor. The 2021 Marshall Fire destroyed 1,084 homes in suburban Louisville and Superior. Baseball-sized hail is routine. The 2013 floods killed 10 people and destroyed 1,800 homes when rain fell on burn scars.
Primary hazards: wildfire, hail, flash flooding, tornadoes, winter storms
Vail, Aspen, Breckenridge, Steamboat Springs, Estes Park. Avalanche risk, heavy snow, wildfire in beetle-killed timber, and flash floods in narrow canyons. The Big Thompson Canyon flood of 1976 killed 144 people. Mountain roads close without notice.
Primary hazards: wildfire, flash floods, avalanches, winter storms
The high plains from Weld County to the Kansas border. This is Tornado Alley. The state averages 53 tornadoes per year, most of them on the plains. Supercell thunderstorms produce some of the largest hail on Earth. Blizzards strand travelers on highways.
Primary hazards: tornadoes, giant hail, blizzards, drought
Your hazard profile
Each links to a full guide with during-event protocol, recovery steps, and resources specific to CO.
The 2021 Marshall Fire in Boulder County destroyed 1,084 homes and became the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history. It burned through suburban neighborhoods, not remote forest. Pine beetle kill has left vast stands of dead timber. Grassland fires on the plains spread at highway speed.
Read the wildfires guide →
Colorado has more damaging hailstorms than any other state. The 2017 Denver metro hailstorm caused .3 billion in insured losses. Baseball-sized hail is documented multiple times per decade along the Front Range. Covered parking is not a luxury here.
Read the hail and severe storms guide →
Colorado's steep terrain channels thunderstorm runoff into deadly flash floods. The 2013 Front Range floods killed 10 and destroyed 1,800 homes. The Big Thompson Canyon flood of 1976 killed 144. Canyon roads are the most dangerous places during heavy rain.
Read the flash flooding guide →
Front Range blizzards dump 2 to 4 feet of snow in 24 hours. Mountain passes close without notice. The March 2003 blizzard dumped 7 feet in the foothills. Wind chill on the plains reaches minus 30 degrees F.
Read the blizzards guide →
Colorado averages 53 tornadoes per year. The eastern plains are Tornado Alley. Weld County is the most tornado-prone county in the state. The 2008 Windsor tornado (EF3) showed that populated areas along the Front Range are not immune.
Read the tornadoes guide →
Colorado resources
Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Coordinates disaster response and runs the state's emergency alert system.
Wildfire risk assessments, community wildfire protection plans, defensible space guidance, and the Colorado Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal for checking your property's fire risk.
Front Range and mountain forecasts. Severe thunderstorm warnings, winter storm watches, flash flood warnings, and red flag warnings during fire weather.
Daily avalanche forecasts for every backcountry zone in the state. Essential for anyone recreating in the mountains from November through May.
Real-time road conditions, chain laws, pass closures, and travel alerts. Check before every mountain drive during winter.
December 30, 2021
On December 30, 2021, hurricane-force winds pushed a grassfire through the suburban communities of Louisville and Superior, between Denver and Boulder. In less than a day, 1,084 homes burned. Entire neighborhoods vanished. It was December. There was snow on the ground the next morning.
The Marshall Fire was not a forest fire in a remote area. It burned through subdivisions, strip malls, and hotel parking lots. The fuel was dry grass and 100 mph winds. The lesson was that wildfire risk in Colorado is not limited to mountain cabins. It reaches into the suburbs.
For every Colorado household along the Front Range, the preparation includes defensible space, a go-bag by the door, and the understanding that evacuation orders can come any month of the year.