Weld County, CO Environment & Hazard Risk

• HailRelatively High$14.1M/yr expected annual loss, about 6.7 events a year
• Cold waveRelatively High$18.9M/yr expected annual loss, about 1.8 events a year
• TornadoRelatively High$16.1M/yr expected annual loss, about 4.2 events a year
• Strong windRelatively High$4.1M/yr expected annual loss, about 1.4 events a year
• Winter weatherRelatively High$762K/yr expected annual loss, about 10 events a year
• LightningRelatively High$1.8M/yr expected annual loss, about 51 events a year
• WildfireRelatively Low$1.3M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 716 years
• Ice stormRelatively Moderate$482K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 40 years
• EarthquakeRelatively Low$1.8M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 1,309 years
• Volcanic activityVery Low$53/yr expected annual loss, about once every 10,000 years
• Heat waveRelatively Low$775K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 2 years
• LandslideVery Low$960/yr expected annual loss, about once every 2 years
• DroughtRelatively Low$74.7K/yr expected annual loss, about 39 events a year

Bars show the national percentile score (0 to 100) for each hazard. Dollar figures are expected annual losses to buildings, people and crops. Not rated here: avalanche, coastal flooding, hurricane, riverine flooding, tsunami.

Check the flood zone for an address

Homes with flood insurance

325 of 106,778 (0.3%)

Homes in high-risk flood zones

1,671

Insured in high-risk zones

202 (12%)

Flood claims since 1978

194

Claims paid since 1978

$5.7M

• Hail968
• Thunderstorm Wind238 · 1 death
• High Wind235
• Tornado130 · 1 death
• Winter Storm98
• Winter Weather94 · 2 deaths
• Flash Flood44
• Heavy Snow33
• Blizzard29 · 3 deaths
• Flood29 · 2 deaths

• TornadoEF3, 24.26 mi path, 1,760 yd wide05/22/2008

  Platteville Arpt, Weld County

  1 death, 78 injured, $147M damage

  What happened

  A powerful tornado swept north-northwestward across Weld County and into Larimer County, carving a path of destruction, nearly 39 miles in length. The tornado, up to one-mile wide at times, initially touched down northeast of Platteville and finally lifted 6 miles west-northwest of Wellington. A tornado assessment in the aftermath of the tornado revealed extensive areas of damage. On the enhanced Fujita Scale there were pockets of EF3 damage, mainly near the Missile Silo Park Campground, and to businesses and home in eastern Windsor. ||There was one fatality, and 78 injuries. One man was killed when he tried to escape the trailer park in his motor home. Preliminary estimates from FEMA indicated 850 homes were damaged, and nearly 300 homes were significantly damaged or destroyed. Privately insured damages totaled $147 million, and the Poudre Valley Rural Electric Associated reported $1 million of damage to electric transmission lines.

• Flood09/12/2013

  Warren, Weld County

  $234M damage

  What happened

  Heavy rain, ranging from 4 to 10 inches through the entire storm event, caused widespread flooding along entire drainage system of the Cache La Poudre River including Greeley and vicinity. In Evans, thousands of residents were told not to flush their toilets or shower, prompting Greeley-Evans School District 6 to close schools. Similar problems occurred in Lasalle. County commissioners estimated at least $230 million in damages to properties and infrastructure throughout Weld County. County officials estimated more than 7,000 parcels of land were impacted by floodwaters; 2,900 were residential and 2,300 were agricultural. In addition, 355 commercial and 62 industrial properties were damaged. A total of 140 county roads were closed at some point, with 654 lane miles of the county's roadways impacted by the flood. Sixty-four irrigation canals were also damaged. As a precaution, about 1,900 oil and gas wells had to be shut down.

• Winter Weather03/30/2009

  C & S Weld County

  2 deaths, 2 injured

  What happened

  A band of heavy snow, induced by a strong upper level jetstream, wreaked havoc on the morning commute in Denver, as well as area north and east of the Denver area. The snow was heaviest on the east side of the Denver metro area where storm totals ranged from 2 to 5 inches. The combination of reduced visibilities and snowpacked roadways resulted in multiple accidents during the morning rush hour including an 18-car pileup, a school bus crash and at least three fatalities. In southern Weld County, several crashes were reported along Interstate 76 near Hudson, and U.S. Highway 85 near Platteville. In Adams County, numerous accidents also occurred along Interstate 70 near Watkins.

• Blizzard03/18/2003

  Larimer County Below 6000 Feet / NW Weld County

  $15.5M damage

  What happened

  A very moist, intense and slow moving Pacific storm system made its way across the four corners area and into southeastern Colorado from March 17th to the 19th, allowing for a deep easterly upslope flow to form along the Front Range. The storm dumped 31.8 inches of snow at the former Stapleton International Airport, good enough for second place in the Denver weather history record book. The storm also managed to vault March 2003 into first place for the snowiest March in Denver history and fifth place for the wettest March on record. In addition, the storm allowed the month of March to break a streak of 19 consecutive months of below normal precipitation in Denver. The mayor of Denver said, "This is the storm of the century, a backbreaker, a record breaker, a roof breaker." The heavy wet snow caused roofs of homes and businesses to collapse across the Urban Corridor. The snow also downed trees, branches and power lines. Up to 135,000 people lost power at some point during the storms and it took several days, in some areas, to restore power. Avalanches in the mountains and foothills closed many roadways, including Interstate 70 in both directions, stranding hundreds of...

• Flood06/30/2023

  Prospect Valley, Weld County

  1 death, 5 injured

  What happened

  A person was killed after the car they were driving was swept away by floodwaters. The accident occurred near Weld County Roads 73 and 16 . The occupant of the car drove past the roadblocks that are there to prevent vehicles from entering the dangerous floodwaters in the area. The car was found floating in the water with a driver inside the car. In total, there were six vehicles submerged into floodwaters, six human rescues, and five police dog rescues performed by deputies.

• Flood05/29/2024

  Greeley, Weld County

  1 death, $3.4M damage

  What happened

  Multiple road closures occurred downtown Greeley due to flooding. These included 9th and 10th streets between 10th avenue and 14th avenue, 11th avenue from 8th street to 11th street, and 8th avenue from 10th street to 12th street. As of June 10th, 279 personal properties and businesses have been included in the report (disaster declaration), as well as 77 government buildings and public infrastructure, totaling approximately $3.4 million in damages from the storm.

• Greeley City ofServes 132,310 · Surface water · Local governmentNo health violations+5 monitoring or reporting
• Firestone Town ofServes 27,798 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations+4 monitoring or reporting
• Johnstown Town ofServes 27,295 · Surface water · Local government1 health violation+6 monitoring or reporting
• Windsor Town ofServes 23,500 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations+2 monitoring or reporting
• Evans City ofServes 19,369 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations+2 monitoring or reporting
• Frederick Town ofServes 17,173 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations+4 monitoring or reporting
• North Weld County WdServes 15,890 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations+1 monitoring or reporting
• Ft Lupton City ofServes 12,099 · Surface water · Local government4 health violations+36 monitoring or reporting