Otero County, Colorado

What hazards hit Otero County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 219 since 1957. 63% of its hail reports since 1957 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 Otero County had?

NOAA records 30 tornadoes in Otero County from 1953 to 2022, the strongest rated F2, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. That is 23rd 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 32 tornadoes whose track touched Otero County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 30: 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 Otero County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 12, 2024 flood (1 death).

Sustained high flow releases from Pueblo Reservoir led to brief periods of minor flooding along the Arkansas River in La Junta (LXHC2) from June 12-13 and again on June 15. The LXHC2 stream gauge reported the first crest of 11.36 ft on June 12 and a second crest of 11.32 ft on June 15. One fatality was reported for the June 15 event.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1195189)

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 Otero 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?

63% of its hail reports since 1957 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 Otero County

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

How many floods has Otero County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 39 flood or flash flood records for Otero County from 1997 to 2024, on 32 days, with 1 death. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Otero County ranks 1137th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.8 million on 139 claims filed in Otero County; the most in one year was 104 in 1999. 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 Otero County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Otero County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $11.9 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 Otero County

1. Pueblo County 1,704
2. Las Animas County 1,226
3. Kiowa County 630
4. Otero County 556
5. Bent County 355
6. 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 Otero CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Otero County's FEMA declarations (CSV)9 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis