Animas River Basin County, Colorado
Tornadoes, hail, floods and severe storms recorded here between 1996 and 2026, from NOAA's Storm Events Database. Search an address to see which tornadoes came closest to it.
0
Tornado reports
0
Hail reports
5
Floods since 1996
505
All events
1
Deaths
$1.3M
Property damage
Year by year
All storm eventsTornadoes
NOAA's storm database records tornadoes back to 1950 and hail and thunderstorm wind back to 1955, but floods only from 1996 on. Older floods are missing here. For those, the U.S. Geological Survey's stream gauge records and flood reports are the place to look.
Most significant events
The strongest tornadoes, deadliest events and biggest damage here, up to 50.
Three backcountry skiers triggered and were buried or partially buried by a large avalanche in the Maroon Bowl outside of Aspen Highlands Ski Area on a steep northwest-facing slope. The avalanche occurred at an elevation of 11500 feet and ran for 2000 vertical feet. Two skiers we…
High Wind High Wind
At approximately 4:42 PM MDT, the KDRO ASOS at the Durango-La Plata County Airport recorded a gust of 58 mph. Other sensors around the zone measured gusts of 45 to 50 mph. No reports of injuries, damages, or fatalities were received in association with this event.
Drought Drought
At the beginning of the month of April, the US Drought Monitor analyzed an area of Extreme (D3) Drought as covering 100% of Colorado Zone 022 - Animas River Basin. With the 4/8 US Drought Monitor update, the area of Extreme (D3) Drought was reduced to 30% coverage, with 70% of th…
Drought Drought
With the 3/31 US Drought Monitor update, Extreme (D3) Drought was analyzed as covering 100% of Colorado Zone 022 - Animas River Basin. No reports of impacts or losses related to the drought conditions in the zone have been received.
Winter Weather Winter Weather
Generally 4 to 8 inches of snow fell across the area with locally higher amounts up to 9.4 inches reported at Durango 0.8 SSW. Winds gusted in the 25 to 35 mph range with a peak wind gust of 38 mph at Durango-La Plata County Airport with visibility dropping to less than quarter m…
High Wind High Wind
The peak gust during this event was 58 mph, recorded at the KDRO ASOS at Durango-La Plata County Airport in Durango, CO at 5:58 AM MST 2/17. Additional gusts at various sensors across the zone during the period of highest winds were 45 mph to 50 mph. No reports of damages, injuri…
Winter Weather Winter Weather
Generally 4 to 8 inches of snow fell across the area with locally higher amounts up to 13.6 inches of snow reported at Hesperus 13.3 SSW over a 3 day period. Winds gusted in the 25 to 50 mph range with a peak wind gust of 58 mph at the Durango-La Plata County Airport with visibil…
Dense Fog Dense Fog
Widespread fog, including areas of dense fog, developed within the Animas River Basin during the morning of January 9 following heavy snowfall. The KDRO ASOS at the Durango La-Plata County Airport reported two prolonged periods of visibility being reduced to or below 1 mile. Duri…
Dense Fog Dense Fog
Widespread dense fog developed within the Animas River Basin on the morning of January 3. The KDRO ASOS at the Durango-La Plata County Airport reported multiple prolonged periods of 1/4 mile visibility from dense fog prior to midnight. No reports of injuries, damages, or fataliti…
Dense Fog Dense Fog
Localized dense fog developed within the Animas River Basin on the morning of December 26. The KDRO ASOS at the Durango-La Plata County Airport reported multiple prolonged periods of reduced visibility throughout the night due to mist and fog, though dense fog with visibility of …
Dense Fog Dense Fog
Areas of dense fog developed within the Animas River Basin overnight on December 4-5. The KDRO ASOS at the Durango La-Plata County Airport reported over two hours of 1/4-mile visibility due to freezing fog. No reports of injuries, damages, or fatalities were received.
Dense Fog Dense Fog
Widespread dense fog developed within the Animas River Basin near and just after sunrise on November 24. The KDRO ASOS at the Durango-La Plata County Airport reported multiple hours of 1/4-mile visibility due to freezing fog, and multiple periods up to 30 minutes long of visibili…
Dense Fog Dense Fog
Widespread dense fog developed within the Animas River Basin after midnight on November 22. The KDRO ASOS at the Durango-La Plata County Airport reported multiple hours of 1/4-mile visibility throughout the early morning due to freezing fog. No reports of injuries, damages, or fa…
Drought Drought
The US Drought Monitor removed the last area of Extreme (D3) Drought from Colorado Zone 022 - Animas River Basin on October 14th, 2025. Extreme (D3) Drought did not reoccur for a month. Therefore this will be the last entry for this zone until such time as Extreme (D3) Drought re…
Frost/Freeze Frost/Freeze
Sixteen of the eighteen reporting stations available for verification recording temperatures at or below 32F for at least 3 hours, and thirteen of those eighteen recorded temperatures at or below 28F for at least three hours. This means that at least 50% of the zone experienced a…
Frost/Freeze Frost/Freeze
With twelve of the eighteen reporting stations available for verification recording temperatures at or below 32F for at least 3 hours, at least 50% of the zone experienced a freeze. Only four of the eighteen stations recorded temperatures at or below 28F for at least 3 hours, so …
Frost/Freeze Frost/Freeze
With eleven of the eighteen reporting stations available for verification recording temperatures at or below 32F for at least 3 hours, at least 50% of the zone experienced a freeze. Only two of the eighteen stations recorded temperatures at or below 28F for at least 3 hours, so t…
Frost/Freeze Frost/Freeze
With sixteen of the eighteen reporting stations available for verification recording temperatures at or below 32F for at least 3 hours, at least 50% of the zone experienced a freeze. Only four of the eighteen stations recorded temperatures at or below 28F for at least 3 hours, so…
Drought Drought
At the beginning of the month of October, the US Drought Monitor analyzed an area of Extreme (D3) Drought as covering roughly 75% of Colorado Zone 022 - Animas River Basin, with the remaining 25% under Severe (D2) Drought conditions. With the 10/14 Drought Monitor update, signifi…
Drought Drought
At the beginning of the month of September, the US Drought Monitor analyzed an area of Extreme (D3) Drought conditions as covering roughly 80% of Colorado Zone 022 - Animas River Basin, with the remainder of the zone under Severe (D2) Drought conditions. With the 9/17 Drought Mon…
Drought Drought
With August 20th update of the US Drought Monitor, about 3/4 of Colorado Zone 022 - Animas River Basin had seen drought conditions worsen to Extreme (D3) Drought. The extent of this drought remained largely unchanged through the end of the month.
Wildfire Wildfire
The Rim Road Fire started in late July 8 miles southwest of Ignacio, Colorado. The cause is still under investigation. The fire grew to 97 acres before it was contained in mid August. No homes were lost but one outbuilding was destroyed in the fire. Some oil and gas operations we…
Wildfire Wildfire
The Rim Road Fire started in late July 8 miles southwest of Ignacio, Colorado. The cause is still under investigation. The fire grew to 97 acres before it was contained in mid August. No homes were lost but one outbuilding was destroyed in the fire. Some oil and gas operations we…
Wildfire Wildfire
The Ute 63 Fire started in mid July due to a lightning strike 7 miles southwest of Red Mesa, Colorado. The fire grew to 534 acres before it was contained in late July. The estimated cost to date was $5,700,000.
Frost/Freeze Frost/Freeze
The coldest temperature recorded at the KDRO ASOS at the Durango-La Plata County Airport was 23F, while the coldest temperature recorded at any site was 22F. Thirteen of the seventeen available sensors recorded at least one hour with temperatures at or below 32F, with an average …
Frost/Freeze Frost/Freeze
The coldest temperature recorded at the KDRO ASOS in Durango, CO was 28F, while the coldest temperature recorded at any recording site in the region was 24F. Temperatures were at or below 32F for an average of 3.6 hours, with 11 of the 16 available recording sites seeing temperat…
Dense Fog Dense Fog
According to the KDRO ASOS in Durango, dense fog developed at the airport around 1:15 AM local time, with visibility rapidly dropping to 1/4 mile or less. The KDRO ASOS continued to report this very low visibility through approximately 7:30 AM local time, at which point visibilit…
Frost/Freeze Frost/Freeze
The KDRO ASOS at the Durango-La Plata County Airport was 28F, while the minimum recorded at any of the available 17 sensors was 15F. A total of 15 out of the available 17 sensors recorded temperatures at or below 32F for at least 3 hours, with an average duration of 5 hours. The …
Frost/Freeze Frost/Freeze
The minimum temperature recorded at the KDRO ASOS at Durango-La Plata County Airport was 27F, while the minimum temperature recorded at any of the 17 available sensors was 23F. All 17 available sensors recorded at least 3 hours of temperatures at or below 32F, with an average dur…
Frost/Freeze Frost/Freeze
The minimum temperature recorded at the KDRO ASOS at the Durango-La Plata County Airport was 30F, while the minimum recorded at any of the available 17 sensors was 28F. A total of 10 out of the available 17 sensors recorded at least 3 hours of temperatures at or below 32F, making…
Dense Fog Dense Fog
The KDRO ASOS in Durango reported an approximately 2.5 hour period where visibility at the airport was less than a mile, dropping as low as 0.25 mile for a period. This dense fog was confined to the airport, as noted by satellite imagery. Therefore this was an extremely isolated …
Winter Storm Winter Storm
Generally 8 to 12 inches of snow fell across the area with locally higher amounts up to 14.8 inches of snow reported at Durango 0.8 SSW. Wind gusts were in the 25 to 35 mph range with a peak wind gust of 36 mph at the Durango-La Plata County Airport.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
The KDRO ASOS in Durango recorded an approximately 1 hour period where temperatures were below 25F and wind chill values were below 15F. Winds were below 10 mph, but still produced sufficiently cold wind chill values. Temperatures ranged from 0F to 2F and winds ranged from 6 mph …
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
The KDRO ASOS in Durango recorded an approximately 5 hour period where temperatures were below 25F and wind chill values were below 15F. Winds during this period were generally below 10 mph, but still produced sufficiently cold wind chill values. Temperatures ranged from 5F to 19…
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
The KDRO ASOS in Durango recorded an approximately 1.5 hour period where temperatures were below 25F and wind chill values were below 15F. Winds were weaker than 10 mph for the majority of the period, but still produced sufficiently cold wind chill values. Temperatures ranged fro…
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
The KDRO ASOS in Durango recorded an approximately 2 hour period where temperatures were below 25F and wind chill values were below 15F. About 1 hour saw winds at or above 10 mph, gusting or sustained. The remainder of the period saw weaker winds that still produced sufficiently …
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
The KDRO ASOS in Durango recorded an approximately 1.5 hour period where temperatures were below 25F and wind chill values were below 15. Winds were below 10 mph during this period, but still produced sufficiently cold wind chill values. Temperatures ranged from 17F to 21F and wi…
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
The KDRO ASOS in Durango recorded an approximately 6 hour period where temperatures were below 25F and wind chill values were below 15F. About 3 hours saw winds at or above 10 mph, gusting or sustained. The remainder saw weaker winds that still produced sufficiently cold wind chi…
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
The KDRO ASOS in Durango recorded an approximately 4.5 hour period where temperatures were below 25F and wind chill values below 15F. About 1 hour saw winds at or above 10 mph, gusting or sustained, while the remainder saw weaker winds that still produced sufficiently cold wind c…
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
The KDRO ASOS in Durango recorded an approximately 2 hour period where temperatures were below 25F and wind chill values were below 15F. Winds were at or above 10 mph, gusting or sustained, for the majority of the period. That said, even the weaker winds produced sufficiently col…
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
The KDRO ASOS in Durango recorded an approximately 4 hour period of temperatures below 25F and wind chill values below 15F. Winds were at or above 10 mph, gusting or sustained, for the majority of the period. That said, even when winds were below 10 mph they produced sufficiently…
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
The KDRO ASOS in Durango recorded an approximately 1 hour period of temperatures below 25F and wind chill values below 15F. Winds were generally weaker than 10 mph, but they still produced sufficiently cold wind chill values. Temperatures ranged from 9F to 12F and winds ranged fr…
Dense Fog Dense Fog
Around 3AM, the KDRO ASOS at Durang-La Plata County Airport began reporting visibilities less than 1/4 mile. Satellite imagery also provided an indication of the extent of the fog. As the sun rose, airfield cameras provided by the Federal Aviation Administration and road cameras …
Dense Fog Dense Fog
Shortly before 3AM local time, the KDRO ASOS at Durango-La Plata County Airport began reporting visibilities less than 1/4 mile. In addition, satellite imagery indicated a widespread area of dense fog throughout the Animas River Basin. As the sun began to rise, airfield cameras p…
High Wind High Wind
Winds across the zone ranged from 45 mph to near 65 mph. The peak recorded gust of 66 mph was recorded at KDRO ASOS at the Durango-La Plata County Airport on the evening of the 20th.
High Wind High Wind
Wind gusts across the zone ranged from 45 mph to near 60 mph during this event. The peak recorded gust of 58 mph occurred during the early morning hours of the 6th at KDRO ASOS at the Durango-La Plata County Airport. Peak gusts occurred during the late night hours of the 5th into…
Winter Weather Winter Weather
Generally a trace to 1.4 inches of snow fell across the area. Winds gusted 30 to 45 mph on average with a peak gust of 55 mph at the Durango-La Plata County Airport on February 27. The snow squall band moved through in the early afternoon on February 27 with Hesperus indicating t…
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Generally 5 to 12 inches of snow fell across the area with locally higher amount of 15 inches at Durango 0.8 SSW.
Winter Weather Winter Weather
Generally 3 to 5 inches of snow fell across the area.
Dense Fog Dense Fog
Dense fog was observed across the Animas River Basin, including at the Durango - La Plata County Airport where visibility was reduced to less than one quarter of a mile for several hours. In addition, several Colorado Department of Transportation road cameras were used to determi…
Events by year, as a table
| Year | Events | Tornadoes |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 8 | 0 |
| 2025 | 33 | 0 |
| 2024 | 7 | 0 |
| 2023 | 20 | 0 |
| 2022 | 18 | 0 |
| 2021 | 31 | 0 |
| 2020 | 26 | 0 |
| 2019 | 21 | 0 |
| 2018 | 23 | 0 |
| 2017 | 12 | 0 |
| 2016 | 13 | 0 |
| 2015 | 24 | 0 |
| 2014 | 12 | 0 |
| 2013 | 21 | 0 |
| 2012 | 23 | 0 |
| 2011 | 16 | 0 |
| 2010 | 22 | 0 |
| 2009 | 15 | 0 |
| 2008 | 16 | 0 |
| 2007 | 25 | 0 |
| 2006 | 20 | 0 |
| 2005 | 32 | 0 |
| 2004 | 23 | 0 |
| 2003 | 16 | 0 |
| 2002 | 10 | 0 |
| 2001 | 8 | 0 |
| 2000 | 6 | 0 |
| 1997 | 1 | 0 |
| 1996 | 3 | 0 |
Search your address
See every tornado that passed within 25 miles of a place in Animas River Basin County, measured to its path.
We couldn’t get your location. Check that location access is allowed for this site, or type an address.