Kit Carson County, Colorado

What hazards hit Kit Carson County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 873 since 1958. 57% of its hail reports since 1958 fell in May and June. 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 Kit Carson County had?

NOAA records 119 tornadoes in Kit Carson County from 1952 to 2026, the strongest rated EF2, with 0 deaths and 6 injuries recorded in the county. That is 12th of 63 Colorado counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. 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 132 tornadoes whose track touched Kit Carson County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 119: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); 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 Kit Carson County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the April 22, 2026 wildfire ($20.0 million in damage in 2025 dollars).

Wildfire started near MM 392, one and a half miles west of Flagler, north of I-70 near the railroad. The railroad bridge nearby was a total loss. The fire risk continued for days afterward from the creasode in the railroad ties smoldering. Westbound traffic was closed on the order of minutes at Siebert due to smoke blowing across the highway. The fire ended up being 364 acres in size.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1322222)

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

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

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 Kit Carson 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?

57% of its hail reports since 1958 fell in May and June. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Kit Carson County

FEMA's register lists 7 declarations that include Kit Carson County: 4 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for biological (2) and flood (1).

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.

FEMA's modeled risk for Kit Carson County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Kit Carson County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $10.3 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 Kit Carson County

1. Sherman County, KS 1,859
2. Yuma County 1,840
3. Kit Carson County 1,688
4. Washington County 1,319
5. Cheyenne County, KS 1,142
6. Cheyenne County 1,136
7. Lincoln County 1,100
8. Wallace County, KS 889

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
• Hail in ColoradoThe state's hail reports, 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 Kit Carson CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Kit Carson County's FEMA declarations (CSV)7 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis