Severe Weather Climatology for Southeast and South-Central Colorado

The National Weather Service Pueblo Severe Weather climatology page shows numerous severe convective weather statistics in graphical format for the National Weather Service (NWS), Pueblo (PUB) County Warning Area (CWA). The NWS Pueblo CWA consists of southeast and south-central Colorado. Data for the charts and figures were created from information from STORM DATA (published by the National Centers for Environmental Information). Only data from 1995 to 2019 are shown (NWS Pueblo became a forecast and warning office in 1995). This page is updated yearly, typically during the late winter months.

A “Severe Convective Weather Event” is defined as:

Hail = 1 inch in diameter or LARGER, and/or; Wind Damage or Wind Speeds of 50 knots (58 mph) or STRONGER, and/or; a Tornado.

Note the following regarding severe hail:

The size of the largest hailstone determines if the storm is considered severe or not. The depth of the hail on the ground does not determine hail storm severity.

Example: You can have 4 inches of pea size (1/4″) hail covering the ground, and this storm would not be considered severe. On the other hand, you can have 1 hailstone fall out of the sky that measures 4 inches in diameter and this storm would be considered severe.

Spring Hail in Lamar

Lightning is not considered severe weather. If you wish to find out more about lightning in Colorado, please visit the NWS Pueblo Colorado Lightning Resource Page.

The three types of severe weather events within NWS Pueblo CWA from 1995-2019

Hail-                2205…73%
Wind-              506…17%
Tornado-          295…10%
Total—3006

Prowers County: All Severe Events

Tornados          44
Wind                 94
Hail                  177

Hail size: by Event

1 to 2 inches…136
2 to 3 inches     36
3 to 4  inches      5

Wind Events for Prowers County:

94        Total
62        50-60 knots
21        60-70 knots
08        70-80 knots
03        80-90 knots

The most severe occurred between 4pm and 5pm. There have been no reports of wind events stronger than those indicated.

Tornado Events for Colorado and Prowers County:
EFU Category Indicates, ‘Unknown’ in that there were no damage indicators available.