Eastern Utah and Western Colorado Tornado Archive
1994-2005
Date: July 31st, 1994
Time: 3:37pm MDT
Location: 5 NE of Paonia (or near Delta, depending on source)
F0
INFO: "A spotter reported a small tornado touched down in an open field northeast of Paonia (27 miles northeast of Montrose). No damage or injuries was reported."
Date: June 7th, 1997
Time: 4pm MDT
Location: 13S of Ignacio
F0
INFO: "A tornado touched down on the La Boca Ranch destroying a 20-by-30 foot metal shed. The tornado also uprooted some large cottonwood trees about a quarter mile away from the shed. The time of touch down was estimated based on radar and satellite imagery, since nobody was at the ranch when the tornado struck."
Date: June 21, 1996
Location: 40°10'09"N 107°16'37"W (NE of Meeker)
F2-F3 (guess)
INFO: Satellite imagery shows possible tornado path NE of Meeker in the mountains of Rio Blanco County, unknown strength or size.
Credit: Tornado Explorer - Julian Larson on Twitter/X
and Tornado Archive
Date: August 8th, 1998
Time: 4:31pm
Location: 6.5SW Grand Junction
F0
INFO: "A weak tornado was reported by at least three eyewitnesses. The tornado touched down onto a gravel pit. The gravel pit was unoccupied. This was the first documented tornado in the Grand Junction metropolitan area."
Date: 4-25-99
Time: 5:15pm MST
Location: 1SW of Pagosa Springs
F0
INFO: "A tornado touched down in a forested area near Pagosa Springs and ripped out large pine trees along a quarter mile path which was about 100 yards in width. Trees falling on power lines knocked out electricity for most residents in Archuleta County for about 1.5 hours. This was the first documented tomado in Archuleta County."
Date: 7-30-99
Time: 2:05pm MST
Location: Blue Mountain
F0
INFO: "A weak tornado touched down over open country near Blue Mountain"
Date: 8-05-99
Time: 3:35pm MST
Location: 3S Marvel
F1
INFO: "A tornado traveled across a farm, ripped off the roof of a barn-shaped residence, sucked up trees from the ground, and picked up an ATV at least 20 feet into the air before tossing it back to the ground 30 yards away. A diesel storage tank was blown away. Ducks were sucked up off a nearby pond. A one-square-foot section of metal roofing material was embedded into the side of a pickup truck."
Date: 4-11-2000
Time: 4:12pm
Location: 4 ESE Walker Airport
F0
INFO: "A tornado in the northeast part of the Grand Valley was observed by many people, including three NWS on-duty personnel, trained weather spotters, and contract FAA tower personnel. The tornado apparently stayed over open country and no damage was reported."
Date: June 3, 2002
Time: 3:30pm
Location: 7 NNW Mack
F0
INFO: "A tornado was observed and photographed by a BLM employee in a remote area."
Credit: NWS/BLM
Date: 8-29-02
Time: 11:03am
Location: 4WSW Durango
F0
INFO: "A tornado touched down near the Rafter J subdivision and was seen by many eyewitnesses. The tornado moved very slowly northeast during its life span and remained between residences. Damage was confined to trees and other vegetation."
Date: 5-13-2004
Time: 8:30am
Location: Maher/SE of Crawford
F1
INFO: "A tornado touched down near the Clear Fork Road and traveled east southeast across forested land and a large meadow. Pinyon trees with trunks up to 14 inches in diameter were ripped out by the roots or snapped off at the base. Some of the trees were lifted over 200 feet into the sky and found about a half mile away from the tornado path. As the tornado lifted, it struck a barn and tore off a large part of the roof and some side panels. Part of a corral and sections of fence were also damaged. The remaining funnel cloud continued moving east southeast for another 7 minutes before dissipating. The tornado was observed by at least a dozen eyewitnesses, including a professional photographer who took snapshots of the funnel cloud as it passed overhead."
Date: 4-15-2000
Time: 4:05pm
Location: 5NW Mack
F0
INFO: "A Colorado State Park Ranger spotted a tornado to the northwest of Highline Lake. The tornado touched down just north of where two funnel clouds were spotted minutes earlier. The tornado remained over open country."
Date: 9-08-2000
Time: 1:05pm MST
Location: 9 ESE Whitewater
F1
INFO: "A tornado traveled east across two roads in an area just south of Kannah Creek. 100 year old trees were blown down and branches were twisted around some trees. A power pole was snapped off near a church. One-foot diameter tree limbs were blown over 100 yards away into a picnic area."
Date: September 11th, 2002
Time: 5pm or so MDT
Location: NW of Delta
F1
INFO: tornado touched down west of delta in remote areas, was seen from across Delta County, was photographed. Was also accompanied by heavy rain, leading to flash flooding.
Image credit: NWS/Unknown.
Date: 6-30-04
Time: 1:38pm
Location: Eagle
F0
INFO: "The short-lived tornado was over a forested area. No damage was found. Path length and width were estimated."
Date: 8-26-04
Time: 1pm
Location: 25 NNE Craig
F1
INFO: "A tornado touched down southwest of the Wilderness Ranch subdivision at the 8500 foot level and continued across the subdivision, narrowly missing residences. Thousands of mature and healthy aspen trees up to 20 inches in diameter were snapped off above the ground, and a lesser number of aspens were ripped out by the roots. Two houses sustained relatively minor damage when struck by flying trees. Tree debris up to ten feet deep blocked at least four roads. This tornado was observed by numerous eyewitnesses, including a county employee whose four-ton truck was pelted with rocks as the tornado passed nearby, just before the tornado moved into the heavily wooded area."
Date: 10-5-04
Time: 11:44am
Location: Durango Colorado
F1
INFO: "The parent cloud of the tornado initially produced a funnel cloud which dissipated several minutes before a second funnel cloud formed which then became a tornado. The tornado traveled north-northeast, mostly across agricultural fields, initially touching down just south of County Road 302 and then lifting up about a half mile south of County Road 220, just east of Highway 550. The lingering funnel cloud then tracked northeast for about another five miles without touching down. Property that was damaged included fences, a sturdy utility trailer that was hurled about 200 feet, a 12 foot by 24 foot metal shed that was destroyed, and a large warehouse that received a glancing blow. Windows and a large door for truck access were blown out of the warehouse. Additionally, a pile of lumber near the warehouse was picked up and tossed over 600 feet away, while bales of hay from a hay barn were also blown out. Crop damage was minimal since the tornado only trekked across pastureland, hay fields, and alfalfa fields. The tornado was seen by hundreds of eyewitnesses, many with cameras who shot pictures of the tornado and funnel clouds."
Credit: Donna Rogers/NWS
Date: 10-17-04
Time: 2:10pm
Location: Mack Colorado
F0
INFO: "This tornado remained over open country and was seen by a number of individuals, including an off duty NWS employee."
Credit: NWS