Lincoln County, Colorado

What hazards hit Lincoln County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 579 since 1955. 55% of its hail reports since 1955 fell in June and July. 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 Lincoln County had?

NOAA records 115 tornadoes in Lincoln County from 1951 to 2023, the strongest rated F3, with 0 deaths and 15 injuries recorded in the county. That is 17th 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 118 tornadoes whose track touched Lincoln County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 115: 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 Lincoln County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the January 15, 2021 dust storm (1 death).

Strong winds produced near zero visibility along Interstate 70. Multiple accidents along I-70 forced its closure due to strong winds and near zero visibility in blowing dust. There was one fatality, with another 15 transported to Limon Hospital. US 287/40 was also closed due to the hazardous travel conditions.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 937867)

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 Lincoln 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?

55% of its hail reports since 1955 fell in June and July. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Lincoln County

FEMA's register lists 10 declarations that include Lincoln County: 7 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (3) 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 Lincoln County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 20 flood or flash flood records for Lincoln County from 1998 to 2024, on 19 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Lincoln County ranks 2477th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $4,362 on 7 claims filed in Lincoln County; the most in one year was 2 in 1990. 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 Lincoln County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Lincoln County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $4.6 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 Lincoln County

1. El Paso County 3,660
2. Pueblo County 1,704
3. Kit Carson County 1,688
4. Arapahoe County 1,390
5. Washington County 1,319
6. Elbert County 1,270
7. Cheyenne County 1,136
8. Lincoln County 1,100
9. Kiowa County 630
10. Crowley County 219

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