Tornadoes · United States · Colorado

Tornadoes in Phillips County, Colorado

51 tornadoes have crossed Phillips County since 1950, 18th of the 54 counties in Colorado with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.5 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 1. None was rated F4 or 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
51
Deaths
0
Injuries
1
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F2, July 9, 1977

The strongest

  1. F2, Phillips County, ColoradoJune 18, 1955F2, 4.9 mi (8 km)
  2. F2, Phillips County, ColoradoJuly 9, 1977F2, 0.1 mi (0 km)
  3. F2, Phillips County, ColoradoMay 24, 1965F2, 0.1 mi (0 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 27 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Phillips County. Each year links to every tornado in Colorado that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20222Unrated
20213EF1
20202EF0
20193EF0
20161EF0
20141EF0
20073EF0
20051F0
20044F0
20003F0
19972F1
19963F1
19954F0
19941F0
19931F0
19921F0
19912F1
19771F2
19762F1
19732F1
19713F1
19691F0
19651F2
19611F0
19601F0
195511F2
19531F0

Every tornado that crossed Phillips County

51 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 7, 20226:09 PM MDTUnratedPhillips0.050
June 7, 20225:44 PM MDTUnratedPhillips0.050
August 19, 20215:20 PM MDTEF0Phillips0.025
August 19, 20215:09 PM MDTEF0Phillips0.025
August 19, 20215:07 PM MDTEF1Phillips0.050$20,000
July 19, 20206:29 PM MDTEF0Phillips0.050
July 8, 20206:04 PM MDTEF0Phillips0.050
July 4, 201910:41 PM MDTEF0Phillips0.025
May 27, 20196:31 PM MDTEF0Phillips0.025
May 27, 20195:51 PM MDTEF0Phillips0.025
June 27, 20165:30 PM MDTEF0Phillips0.025
May 7, 20145:25 PM MDTEF0Phillips0.150
April 23, 200711:00 PM MDTEF0Phillips0.150
March 24, 20074:55 PM MDTEF0Phillips0.150
March 24, 20074:22 PM MDTEF0Phillips0.150
July 3, 20055:20 PM MDTF0Phillips0.150
June 15, 20046:45 PM MDTF0Phillips0.150
June 4, 20046:20 PM MDTF0Phillips0.150
June 4, 20046:18 PM MDTF0Phillips0.150
June 4, 20046:01 PM MDTF0Phillips0.150
June 23, 20005:29 PM MDTF0Phillips0.120
May 17, 20003:15 PM MDTF0Phillips0.120
May 17, 20003:05 PM MDTF0Phillips0.120
August 21, 19976:00 PM MDTF1Phillips0.150
June 14, 19978:45 PM MDTF0Phillips0.150
May 30, 19966:08 PM MDTF0Phillips0.150
May 22, 19966:52 PM MDTF0Phillips0.150
May 22, 19966:40 PM MDTF1Phillips0.2660
July 17, 19954:40 PM MDTF0Phillips0.110
July 17, 19953:26 PM MDTF0Phillips0.110
June 6, 19957:12 PM MDTF0Phillips0.110
May 8, 19953:00 PM MDTF0Phillips0.110
August 1, 19946:00 PM MDTF0Phillips0.350$5,000 to $50,000
June 15, 19936:30 PM MDTF0Phillips0.110
June 21, 19927:12 PM MDTF0Phillips0.110
May 29, 19918:46 PM MDTF0Phillips0.210
May 2, 19916:48 PM MDTF1Phillips2.027$50,000 to $500,000
July 9, 19777:00 PM MDTF2Phillips0.1200
August 15, 19769:45 PM MDTF1Phillips0.5100$5,000 to $50,000
August 15, 19769:45 PM MDTF1Phillips0.5100$5,000 to $50,000
August 25, 19734:27 PM MDTF1Phillips0.327
August 9, 19734:45 PM MDTF1Phillips0.550
July 3, 19714:14 PM MDTF1Phillips0.110$500 to $5,000
May 25, 19715:10 PM MDTF0Phillips0.110
May 25, 19715:10 PM MDTF0Phillips0.110
May 7, 19691:18 PM GMT-6F0Phillips0.110
May 24, 19652:00 PM GMT-6F2Phillips0.110$5,000 to $50,000
June 2, 19612:00 PM GMT-7F0Phillips0.110
July 27, 19606:30 PM GMT-7F0Phillips0.110
June 18, 195512:50 PM GMT-7F2Phillips4.9831$50,000 to $500,000
July 2, 19537:00 PM GMT-7F0Phillips0.110under $50

Nearby

Warnings in force in Phillips CountyThe forecast for Phillips CountyThe live radar over Phillips 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.