Counties with the most tornadoes in Colorado

It's been a busy year for tornadoes in the U.S. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as many as 1,155 twisters have touched down across the country since the start of the year, above the average for this time of year.

A single day can drive up tornado counts. March 31, 2023, accounted for 163 tornadoes across the Midwest and South. Tornado activity usually peaks in the spring and early summer, and the pace of tornadoes usually slows around late summer. A smaller-scale second tornado season emerges in the fall, mostly in the Gulf Coast states.

Stacker used data from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information to find the counties in Colorado that have experienced the most tornadoes since 2000. While data is available going back to 1950, tornado tracking by the National Weather Service became more robust and accurate in the 1990s. Since counties can vary in size, they are ranked by the number of tornadoes per 100 square miles. Counties that experienced less than five tornadoes are not included.

The counties that encounter the most tornadoes aren't all in the infamous Tornado Alley. When adjusted for county area, the top 10 counties that experienced the most tornadoes since 2000 are from nine different states, all in the Southeast with the exception of Cleveland County, Oklahoma.

Research has shown that Tornado Alley is shifting due to warming temperatures fueled by climate change. In the future, the Southeast could become the region that receives the bulk of the country's tornadoes. It's a concerning trend as the South is more populated than the Great Plains and has a higher concentration of mobile homes than other parts of the country, making the storms potentially deadlier and costlier.

As of August 2023, 75 people have died from tornadoes this year, and over 60% of those deaths occurred in mobile homes.

The best way to stay protected during tornadoes is to have multiple ways of receiving storm updates including social media, radio, television, and sirens, and to immediately seek shelter in a basement or interior room without windows when a tornado watch escalates to a warning.

Read on to see which counties experience the most tornadoes in Colorado.

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#28. Larimer County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (0.19 per 100 square miles)
- #2,058 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#27. Mesa County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 9 (0.27 per 100 square miles)
- #2,036 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#26. Pueblo County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (0.34 per 100 square miles)
- #2,018 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#25. Park County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (0.36 per 100 square miles)
- #2,012 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#24. Las Animas County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 18 (0.38 per 100 square miles)
- #2,007 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#23. Crowley County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (0.63 per 100 square miles)
- #1,934 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#22. Otero County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (0.95 per 100 square miles)
- #1,803 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#21. Alamosa County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 7 (0.97 per 100 square miles)
- #1,794 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#20. Baca County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 34 (1.33 per 100 square miles)
- #1,534 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#19. El Paso County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 30 (1.41 per 100 square miles)
- #1,473 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#18. Yuma County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 35 (1.48 per 100 square miles)
- #1,430 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#17. Douglas County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 14 (1.67 per 100 square miles)
- #1,300 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#16. Bent County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 27 (1.78 per 100 square miles)
- #1,219 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#15. Lincoln County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 51 (1.98 per 100 square miles)
- #1,074 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#14. Kit Carson County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 47 (2.18 per 100 square miles)
- #945 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#13. Logan County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 40 (2.18 per 100 square miles)
- #944 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#12. Weld County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 92 (2.31 per 100 square miles)
- #854 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3

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#11. Prowers County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 43 (2.62 per 100 square miles)
- #664 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#10. Sedgwick County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 15 (2.74 per 100 square miles)
- #618 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#9. Kiowa County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 56 (3.17 per 100 square miles)
- #431 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#8. Phillips County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 23 (3.34 per 100 square miles)
- #369 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#7. Arapahoe County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 27 (3.38 per 100 square miles)
- #356 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#6. Cheyenne County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 62 (3.49 per 100 square miles)
- #329 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#5. Morgan County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 45 (3.51 per 100 square miles)
- #321 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#4. Washington County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 97 (3.85 per 100 square miles)
- #258 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 6

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#3. Elbert County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 73 (3.94 per 100 square miles)
- #241 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#2. Denver

- Tornadoes since 2000: 7 (4.58 per 100 square miles)
- #145 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#1. Adams County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 65 (5.57 per 100 square miles)
- #75 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1