Yuma County, Colorado

What hazards hit Yuma County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 1,046 since 1958. 50% 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 Yuma County had?

NOAA records 105 tornadoes in Yuma County from 1954 to 2026, the strongest rated EF3, with 0 deaths and 18 injuries recorded in the county. That is 15th 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 114 tornadoes whose track touched Yuma County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 105: 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 Yuma County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the December 17, 2025 wildfire ($300,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Yuma county emergency manager relayed that multiple fires were ongoing across the county as wind gusts of 60-83 mph were ongoing behind a cold front. There were also three smoke plumes on radar as well. The largest was named 33 Fire as it was along CR 33 near the town of Heartstrong, Colorado. It is believed the fire was started from downed power lines from the wind. The fire burned 12,000 acres but with the only damage known to be to an abandoned trailer and a pig barn with no livestock inside. The other fires from that day burned around 2000 acres near CR L in Yuma county and 50 acres near CR 44. Near the intersection of CR T and 28 a 15x20 chicken building with 20 chickens, 9 ducks and 1 rabbit was lost along with some minor damage to a goat pen. Fire damage was also reported to sprinklers and fence line near the intersection of CR 27 and CR U. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1299462)

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 Yuma 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?

50% 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 Yuma County

FEMA's register lists 7 declarations that include Yuma County: 5 major disasters, 2 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.

How many floods has Yuma County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 46 flood or flash flood records for Yuma County from 1996 to 2024, on 36 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Yuma County ranks 2590th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $140,000 on 5 claims filed in Yuma County; the most in one year was 2 in 2020. 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 Yuma County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Yuma County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $15.5 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 Yuma County

1. Yuma County 1,840
2. Kit Carson County 1,688
3. Washington County 1,319
4. Cheyenne County, KS 1,142
5. Logan County 1,062
6. Dundy County, NE 774
7. Chase County, NE 756
8. Phillips County 532

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 Yuma CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Yuma County's FEMA declarations (CSV)7 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis