Clear Creek County, Colorado

What hazards hit Clear Creek County most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 599 since 1996. The rank column places the county among Colorado's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Clear Creek County had?

NOAA records 2 tornadoes in Clear Creek County from 2007 to 2012, the strongest rated EF0, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 2 tornadoes whose track touched Clear Creek County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 2, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Colorado.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Clear Creek County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the February 22, 2025 avalanche (1 death).

A backcountry skier is dead after being buried in an avalanche on Berthoud Pass Saturday, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. The skier-triggered avalanche happened on Mines Peak east of the pass, in a rocky part of the mountain face known as The Fingers, around 4:45 p.m.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1228812)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Clear Creek County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

Records by month in Clear Creek County. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Clear Creek County

FEMA's register lists 9 declarations that include Clear Creek County: 5 major disasters, 4 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (4) and biological (2).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Clear Creek County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 7 flood or flash flood records for Clear Creek County from 1998 to 2013, on 7 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Clear Creek County ranks 1928th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $43,000 on 29 claims filed in Clear Creek County; the most in one year was 5 in 2013. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Clear Creek County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Clear Creek County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $20.7 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Clear Creek County

1. Jefferson County 1,455
2. Park County 1,119
3. Grand County 1,114
4. Clear Creek County 899
5. Summit County 556
6. Gilpin County 108

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Tornadoes in ColoradoEvery Colorado tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Winter storms in ColoradoThe state's winter storm records, by county, year and month
• The Colorado recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Clear Creek CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Clear Creek County's FEMA declarations (CSV)9 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis