Tornadoes · United States · Colorado

1993 tornadoes in Colorado

71 tornadoes touched down in Colorado in 1993, 118 percent above the average of the record for the state. None of them killed anybody.

1992 1994 The whole country in 1993

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F040 to 72 mph

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F173 to 112 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2113 to 157 mph

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3158 to 206 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4207 to 260 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5261 to 318 mph

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Every tornado in Colorado in 1993

May 21 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 217:15 PM MDTF0Kit Carson0.110
May 218:06 PM MDTF0Cheyenne0.110

May 22 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 225:00 PM MDTF0Prowers0.1100

May 25 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 255:30 PM MDTF1Huerfano1.0100$50,000 to $500,000

May 28 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 284:12 PM MDTF0Larimer0.1100

June 2 7 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 212:30 PM MDTF1Denver0.150$5,000 to $50,000
June 23:15 PM MDTF0Otero0.110
June 24:06 PM MDTF0Kit Carson0.110
June 24:50 PM MDTF0Baca0.110
June 24:50 PM MDTF0Kit Carson0.110
June 25:15 PM MDTF0Cheyenne0.110
June 26:30 PM MDTF1Baca0.110$5,000 to $50,000

June 15 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 156:30 PM MDTF0Phillips0.110

June 17 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 176:40 PM MDTF0Baca0.110

June 18 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 185:40 PM MDTF0Prowers0.250
June 186:30 PM MDTF0Kiowa0.110

June 22 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 224:20 PM MDTF0Washington0.110

June 23 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 237:16 PM MDTF0Washington0.110

June 30 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 309:30 PM MDTF0Kiowa0.130$500 to $5,000

July 7 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 78:25 PM MDTF3Kit Carson9.05008$500,000 to $5 million

July 9 11 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 92:15 PM MDTF0Adams0.110
July 96:04 PM MDTF0Kit Carson0.110
July 96:29 PM MDTF0Kit Carson0.110
July 96:36 PM MDTF0Kit Carson0.110
July 97:15 PM MDTF0Kit Carson0.110
July 97:21 PM MDTF0Kit Carson0.173
July 97:30 PM MDTF0Kit Carson10.0500
July 98:26 PM MDTF0Washington0.110
July 98:27 PM MDTF0Kit Carson8.010
July 99:22 PM MDTF0Cheyenne0.110
July 99:31 PM MDTF0Cheyenne10.010

July 12 6 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 121:43 PM MDTF0Adams0.110
July 122:30 PM MDTF0Washington0.110
July 122:33 PM MDTF0Washington0.110
July 123:50 PM MDTF0Lincoln0.110
July 124:08 PM MDTF0Lincoln0.110
July 126:20 PM MDTF0Prowers0.110

July 13 4 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 1312:47 PM MDTF0Weld0.110
July 1312:47 PM MDTF0Weld0.110
July 1312:47 PM MDTF0Weld0.110
July 1312:47 PM MDTF0Weld0.110

July 14 6 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 145:20 PM MDTF0Pueblo0.110
July 149:05 PM MDTF0Weld0.110
July 149:05 PM MDTF0Weld0.110
July 149:22 PM MDTF0Weld0.110
July 149:22 PM MDTF0Weld0.110
July 149:24 PM MDTF0Weld0.110

July 15 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 156:00 PM MDTF0Morgan0.110

July 20 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 205:50 PM MDTF0Lincoln0.110

July 21 13 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 215:15 PM MDTF0Washington0.110
July 215:40 PM MDTF0Washington0.110
July 216:04 PM MDTF0Washington0.110
July 217:50 PM MDTF0Washington0.110
July 217:57 PM MDTF0Washington6.050$5,000 to $50,000
July 218:28 PM MDTF0Washington0.110
July 218:28 PM MDTF0Washington0.110
July 218:28 PM MDTF0Washington0.110
July 218:32 PM MDTF3Washington12.01506$5,000 to $50,000
July 219:18 PM MDTF0Washington0.110
July 219:35 PM MDTF0Washington0.110
July 219:40 PM MDTF0Yuma0.110
July 219:50 PM MDTF0Yuma0.110

July 23 7 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 235:58 PM MDTF0Washington0.110
July 235:58 PM MDTF0Washington0.110
July 235:58 PM MDTF0Washington0.110
July 235:58 PM MDTF0Washington0.110
July 236:18 PM MDTF0Washington0.110
July 237:17 PM MDTF0Washington0.110
July 237:35 PM MDTF0Washington0.110

August 5 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 53:00 PM MDTF0Larimer0.110

August 12 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 128:16 PM MDTF0Lincoln0.110

Nearby

Every tornado in Colorado since 1950Warnings in force in ColoradoThe live radar over Colorado

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.