La Plata County, Colorado

What hazards hit La Plata County most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 853 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 La Plata County had?

NOAA records 5 tornadoes in La Plata County from 1992 to 2004, the strongest rated F1, 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 5 tornadoes whose track touched La Plata County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 5, 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 La Plata County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the July 13, 2025 wildfire ($5.7 million in damage in 2025 dollars).

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.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1285485)

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 La Plata 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).

Extreme cold in the 2020-26: 46 records against 15 in the decade before, 46 of them forecast-zone records. Cells marked z rose mostly through zone records. The local National Weather Service office files these once per forecast zone, so a change in how it draws its zones or splits a storm into records moves this count as much as the weather does; read it beside the La Plata County days with a record above.

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 La Plata County. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for La Plata County

FEMA's register lists 10 declarations that include La Plata County: 4 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 3 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for fire (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 La Plata County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 76 flood or flash flood records for La Plata County from 1996 to 2025, on 54 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), La Plata County ranks 1504th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.3 million on 67 claims filed in La Plata County; the most in one year was 20 in 2025. 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 La Plata County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates La Plata County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $39.5 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 La Plata County

1. Hinsdale County 1,872
2. La Plata County 1,709
3. Montezuma County 1,537
4. Dolores County 1,461
5. Archuleta County 1,459
6. San Juan County, NM 1,001
7. San Juan County 944

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 La Plata CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download La Plata County's FEMA declarations (CSV)10 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis