How Common are Tornadoes in Colorado Mountains?

Growing up in the mountainous Vail Valley corridor in Colorado's Eagle County, one thing that we never had to worry about, or at least we didn't think we had to worry about, was tornadoes.

While tornadoes do take place in Colorado, sometimes causing devastating results, the majority of them touch down in the flatter Eastern Plains near the borders of Kansas to the east, Wyoming to the north, and Nebraska to the northeast.

Read More: Colorado's Worst Tornadoes Will Blow You Away |

However, this past Tuesday saw an EF-1 tornado take shape and wreak havoc in a mountainous and high-elevation part of the state near Divide, Colorado, and Pikes Peak, prompting one to ask, How common are tornadoes at high elevations?

How Common Are Tornadoes at High Elevations in Colorado

To date, Weld County, located on Colorado's Eastern Plains, has the most tornadoes in its history, with Greeley and Windsor being among its towns and cities.

Interestingly, according to 9NEWS meteorologist Chris Bianchi, the recent high-altitude tornado was not the first to touch down at such a high elevation, as Colorado experienced a similar situation last year.

To expand on that, Kate Kershner of How Stuff Works explains that conditions like warm, humid air and flat terrain make for, no pun intended, a perfect storm for tornadoes to form regardless of the elevation.

It should also be noted that while Pikes Peak is fairly close to the area in which the tornado formed and tore down trees, the aforementioned mountain is pretty much the only one in the area.