Tornado and Flash Flood in Colorado, June 12 to 13, 1997

Name: Tornado and Flash Flood in Colorado, June 12 to 13, 1997
Start: 1997-06-12T16:47
End: 1997-06-13T18:00
Location: Colorado

June 12 to 13, 1997 · NWS BOU · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

2 hail, 1 flood, 1 flash flood, 1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

The radar

The Denver radar (KFTG), 33 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:46 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 hail, 1 flood, 1 flash flood, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Denver

When: June 12, 4:47 PM MST
Where: Denver County, Denver
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 39.730, -104.930

Flood, Larimer

When: June 13, 1:00 PM MST to 3:00 PM MST
Where: Larimer County, Ft Collins
Coordinates: 40.666, -105.461 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy rain drenched portions of southeast Larimer County. Two to nearly 4 inches of rain fell in the Fort Collins and Loveland areas causing extensive flooding.

Flash Flood, Arapahoe

When: June 13, 1:30 PM MST to 3:00 PM MST
Where: Arapahoe County, 5 mi SW of Byers
Coordinates: 39.650, -104.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy rain and hail caused Little Comanche Creek to overflow its banks. The areal extent of the flooding was roughly 50 feet wide and 1 mile long. One homeowner had hail drifting to 5 feet high as it washed into his yard. A flat bed trailer he owned was carried 1/2 mile downstream.

Tornado, Elbert

When: June 13, 5:30 PM MST to 6:00 PM MST
Where: Elbert County, Matheson to 5 mi SW of Matheson
Rating: F0
Path length: 5 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Coordinates: 39.120, -104.050

A multi-vortex tornado touched down. The path length and width of the storm was approximated.

Hail, Lincoln

When: June 13, 5:45 PM MST
Where: Lincoln County, 7 mi E of Limon
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 39.270, -103.570

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Colorado in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Colorado, 1997 Warnings in Colorado, June 1997

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5607406, 5607407, 5607408, 5607409, 5607410.