Tornadoes · United States · Colorado

Tornadoes in Baca County, Colorado

88 tornadoes have crossed Baca County since 1950, 15th of the 54 counties in Colorado with a tornado on record, an average of 1.2 a year. They have killed 0 people and injured 4. 1 was rated F4 or EF4 and above.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale

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

  2. F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale

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

  3. F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale

    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. F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale

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

  5. F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale

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

  6. F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale

    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.

Now

Tornadoes
88
Deaths
0
Injuries
4
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
F4, May 18, 1977

The strongest

  1. F4, Cimarron and Baca counties, Oklahoma and ColoradoMay 18, 1977F4, 38.6 mi (62 km)
  2. F2, Baca County, ColoradoJune 10, 1967F2, 14.2 mi (23 km)
  3. EF2, Baca County, ColoradoMay 31, 2010EF2, 9.2 mi (15 km)
  4. F2, Baca County, ColoradoMay 15, 2003F2, 5.0 mi (8 km)
  5. EF2, Baca County, ColoradoMay 31, 2010EF2, 2.8 mi (5 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 40 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Baca County. Each year links to every tornado in Colorado that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20233EF1
20222Unrated
20191Unrated
20171EF0
20153EF1
20141EF0
20131EF0
20122EF0
20106EF2
20093EF0
20072EF0
20061F0
20053F0
20046F0
20031F2
20002F0
19993F1
19967F0
19933F1
19928F1
19911F0
19901F0
19861F1
19851F1
19821F1
19811F1
19793F1
19781F1
19771F4
19732F1
19721F0
19711F0
19702F0
19691F1
19681F0
196724F2
19661F0
19623F1
19571F1
19553F0

Every tornado that crossed Baca County

88 tornadoes, newest first. 1 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files it under that state rather than Colorado.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 13, 20237:44 PM MDTEF0Baca0.010
July 13, 20237:16 PM MDTEF0Baca0.310
June 23, 20236:33 PM MDTEF1Baca8.4100
June 7, 20229:27 PM MDTUnratedBaca8.120
June 7, 20228:18 PM MDTUnratedBaca6.320
June 22, 20198:30 PM MDTUnratedBaca0.110
June 25, 20173:25 PM MDTEF0Baca4.4200$2,000
June 11, 20157:45 PM MDTEF0Baca1.350
May 28, 20153:53 PM MDTEF0Baca0.450
May 7, 20154:59 PM MDTEF1Baca0.350$3,000
June 30, 20145:20 PM MDTEF0Baca0.350
July 25, 20133:09 PM MDTEF0Baca1.175
June 16, 20127:02 PM MDTEF0Baca1.150
June 14, 20122:37 PM MDTEF0Baca0.350
May 31, 20106:09 PM MDTEF2Baca9.2300$30,000
May 31, 20103:07 PM MDTEF0Baca0.375
May 31, 20102:55 PM MDTEF2Baca2.8400$20,000
May 25, 20108:00 PM MDTEF1Baca2.5300$5,000
May 25, 20107:52 PM MDTEF0Baca1.175$10,000
May 23, 20107:12 PM MDTEF1Baca7.9100$9,000
July 29, 20094:58 PM MDTEF0Baca0.250
July 17, 20096:55 PM MDTEF0Bent4.0100
June 13, 20096:01 PM MDTEF0Baca0.650
June 19, 20071:55 PM MDTEF0Baca3.175
April 21, 20075:25 PM MDTEF0Baca2.775
May 30, 20065:17 PM MDTF0Baca0.250
June 10, 20055:00 PM MDTF0Baca1.0100$10,000
June 10, 20054:50 PM MDTF0Baca2.0100$10,000
May 30, 20058:03 PM MDTF0Baca0.130
August 10, 200410:38 PM MDTF0Baca0.440
June 16, 20044:39 PM MDTF0Baca2.0100
June 16, 20044:06 PM MDTF0Baca1.050
June 16, 20043:57 PM MDTF0Baca1.050
June 15, 20045:32 PM MDTF0Baca0.575
June 15, 20045:05 PM MDTF0Baca1.075
May 15, 20033:39 PM MDTF2Baca5.0200$120,000
July 20, 20006:20 PM MDTF0Baca0.550
July 16, 20006:28 PM MDTF0Baca15.050
June 29, 19992:38 PM MDTF0Baca4.0100
June 29, 19992:05 PM MDTF0Baca2.050
June 29, 19992:00 PM MDTF1Baca7.0100$30,000
September 2, 19964:20 PM MDTF0Baca0.275
September 2, 19964:20 PM MDTF0Baca0.275
September 2, 19964:20 PM MDTF0Baca7.0150
June 25, 19968:15 PM MDTF0Baca0.150
June 25, 19967:35 PM MDTF0Baca1.075
June 3, 19961:04 PM MDTF0Baca0.150
June 3, 199612:25 PM MDTF0Baca0.150
June 17, 19936:40 PM MDTF0Baca0.110
June 2, 19936:30 PM MDTF1Baca0.110$5,000 to $50,000
June 2, 19934:50 PM MDTF0Baca0.110
June 19, 19928:03 PM MDTF1Baca3.0200$5,000 to $50,000
June 19, 19927:54 PM MDTF0Baca0.110
June 19, 19927:52 PM MDTF0Baca0.110
June 13, 19929:40 PM MDTF0Baca0.110
June 13, 19929:25 PM MDTF0Baca0.110
June 13, 19928:50 PM MDTF0Baca0.110
June 13, 19927:19 PM MDTF0Baca0.110
June 5, 19924:45 PM MDTF0Baca0.110
May 11, 19919:10 PM MDTF0Baca2.027
July 14, 19907:40 PM MDTF0Baca0.213
August 1, 19863:42 PM MDTF1Baca1.040
May 21, 198512:50 PM MDTF1Baca1.050
June 23, 19826:52 PM MDTF1Baca2.0300$500 to $5,000
July 26, 19816:30 PM MDTF1Baca1.040
June 28, 19799:25 PM MDTF1Baca0.527
May 1, 19792:10 PM MDTF1Baca1.0100$500 to $5,000
May 1, 19792:10 PM MDTF1Baca0.517
June 26, 197810:00 PM CDTF1Baca to KS22.967$5,000 to $50,000
May 18, 19771:50 PM CDTF4Cimarron to CO38.6440$500,000 to $5 million
May 6, 19732:30 PM MDTF1Baca0.350
May 6, 19731:30 PM MDTF1Baca0.5100
May 9, 19726:53 PM MDTF0Baca0.110
April 19, 197112:01 AM MSTF0Baca14.217$50 to $500
August 12, 19708:44 PM MDTF0Baca0.310
July 31, 19703:07 PM MDTF0Baca0.110
May 31, 19695:15 PM GMT-6F1Baca0.350$5,000 to $50,000
July 11, 19684:00 PM GMT-6F0Baca0.110$500 to $5,000
June 10, 19675:15 PM GMT-6F2Baca14.21004$50,000 to $500,000
May 31, 19674:40 PM GMT-6F0Baca0.110
August 9, 19666:00 PM GMT-6F0Baca0.110
September 1, 19624:50 PM GMT-7F0Baca0.110
June 22, 19622:45 PM GMT-7F1Baca12.033$50 to $500
May 17, 19622:30 PM GMT-7F1Baca23.010$50 to $500
June 22, 19578:00 PM GMT-7F1Baca0.110$50 to $500
June 19, 19555:30 PM GMT-7F0Baca0.110
June 19, 19555:30 PM GMT-7F0Baca0.110
June 19, 19555:30 PM GMT-7F0Baca0.110

Nearby

Warnings in force in Baca CountyThe forecast for Baca CountyThe live radar over Baca CountyEvery county in 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.