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Rarest Of Colorado Tornadoes Have Happened 3 Times Since 1950, But 11 Times Prior

DENVER (CBS) - Killer tornadoes hit somewhere in the United States each year but they are rare in Colorado.

Of the 2,023 tornadoes on record between 1950-2014 only three have been killers.

One touched down north of Holyoke on June 27, 1960. It was an F-3 rated tornado on the ground for 6.5 miles, killing two and injuring three.

holyoke
A newspaper article from the killer tornado near Holyoke on June 27, 1960. (credit: The Holyoke Enterprise)

More recently back-to-back killer tornadoes struck Colorado in the late 2000s.

A rare early season twister hit the small town of Holly on March 28, 2007. The EF-3 rated tornado was a half-mile wide and on the ground for 28 miles, killing two and injuring nine.

holly 2
A view from the air after an EF-3 tornado heavily damaged the small town of Holly, Colo. on March 28, 2007. (credit: CBS)

Just over a year later an EF-3 tornado touched down northeast of Denver and traveled through Windsor on May 22, 2008.

It took an unusual path traveling 40 miles in a northwest direction toward the mountains, killing one and injuring 78. The tornado had the second longest path ever recorded in Colorado.

Windsor Tornado
One person was killed and 78 others injured when a large tornado cut a 39-mile path through Northern Colorado on May 22, 2008. (credit: CBS)(credit: CBS)

Long-track tornadoes are rare in Colorado.

The longest in the modern record touched down in Kit Carson County on May 20, 1957. It quickly traveled northeast into Kansas staying on the ground for 70.1 miles.

KILLER TORNADOES BEFORE 1950

Tornado records before 1950 are hard to come by but some do exist in Colorado.

The following is a list that was compiled by tornado researcher Thomas P. Grazulis.

• June 30, 1915 (Bent County) – three homes were destroyed twenty miles southwest of Lamar leaving 1 dead and 5 injured

• August 10, 1917 (Baca County) – seven were injured and one man was killed in Two Buttes as he sought shelter inside a dry goods store hit by a tornado that struck around 6 p.m.

• November 4, 1922 (Lincoln County) – a rare late season and early morning tornado struck 20 miles north of Sugar City around 5 a.m. leaving four dead and 25 injured

• November 4, 1922 (Phillips County) – a teacher was killed in her "teacherage" home at the Pleasant Valley School, located 11 miles east-southeast of Holyoke, as a tornado hit around 9:30 a.m. leaving one dead and three injured

• August 10, 1924 (Washington County) – nine children and a woman were killed in a farmhouse near Thurman and eight others were injured when a tornado hit around 1:45 p.m.

• June 14, 1925 (Pueblo County) – a child was killed and two others injured as a small tornado hit a farm and poultry house around 1 p.m.

• August 10, 1926 (Logan County) – a child was killed and two others injured when a tornado destroyed two homes near Padroni

• June 8, 1928 (Baca County) – seven farms were destroyed near the Oklahoma border from a tornado that struck around 4:15 p.m. leaving two dead and four injured

• June 29, 1928 (Larimer County, Weld County) – two women died when two farmhouses were destroyed and 50 others were injured near Johnstown when a tornado hit around 11:45 a.m.

• October 2, 1930 (Pueblo County) – three people left their car and sought shelter in a farmhouse 14 miles northwest of Fowler when they saw a tornado around 3 p.m. but the house was hit killing all three and injuring four others

• April 30, 1942 (Bent County, Kiowa County) - four different homes were destroyed near McClave and Eads from an overnight tornado that struck around 1:30 a.m. leaving four dead and 12 others injured

Meteorologist Chris Spears writes about stories related to weather and climate in Colorado. Check out his bio or follow him on Twitter @ChrisCBS4.

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