Messex, Colorado
10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1951 and the latest in 1980. It stands in the Akron census division. It lies in ZIP code area 80741. It lies near L F Draw. The Survey maps it on the Messex quadrangle. It stands 4,088 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 10 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1951 USGS Messex quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1954 USGS Sterling quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Sterling quadrangle1:250000
- 1971 USGS Messex quadrangle1:24000
- 1980 USGS Fort Morgan quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
20 since 2011Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 20 fires within 5 miles of Messex between 2011 and 2020, burning about 173 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 13 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 3 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Debris and open burning | 2 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 August 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Merino Fire Department | UNKNOWN |
| 31 August 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Merino Fire Department | UNKNOWN |
| 30 August 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Merino Fire Department | UNKNOWN |
| 30 August 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | Colorado State Forest Service-State Headquarters | MERINO |
| 9 July 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 5.0 acres | Merino Fire Department | UNKNOWN |
| 4 July 2018 | Smoking | under an acre | Merino Fire Department | UNKNOWN |
| 24 July 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 50 acres | Sterling Fire Rescue | UNKNOWN |
| 1 July 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Merino Fire Department | UNKNOWN |
Mines and quarries near this place
5 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Messex: 2 occurrences, 1 past producer, 1 unknown, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Fire Clay (Refractory). Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown | Fire Clay (Refractory) | Occurrence | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Occurrence | Gravel | |
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
18 since 2004Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Messex in 18 storm reports between 2004 and 2025: 10 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 2 flood, 2 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2013 | Flood | Messex | $10,000,000 | The flood crest moving down the South Platte River completely submerged the community of Messex and forced the evacuation of the small community for several days. The railroad tracks, owned by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway on the west side of the river, suffered extensive damage. In addition, a section of CO63 was also damaged. Several small bridges and county roads were washed out by flooding around Messex including Washington County Roads 59, N and WW. The entrance and exit ramps of Interstate 76 to Barlow Road were closed due to flooding. Fiber optic cables were also damaged during the flood. |
| June 2015 | Flood | Messex | $5,000,000 | A levee breach, about 100 yards wide along the South Platte River, produced farmland flooding over northwest Washington County. Floodwaters, 3 to 4 feet deep, washed out the Union Pacific railroad tracks southwest of Messex. Up to 10 inches of water covered several miles of track. Approximately 30 trains per day had to be diverted until the tracks could be repaired and inspected. Washington County Road 58.3 was also washed out. |
| August 2008 | Flash Flood | Messex | $10,000 | Heavy rain caused considerable damage to several county roads and culverts south of Akron. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Messex | - | Colorado Parks and Wildlife employee reported golf ball sized hail at Prewitt Reservoir. |
| May 2025 | Tornado (EF2) | Messex | - | Well documented tornado that moved south parallel to CO-63, remaining generally in open areas 2-3 miles west of CO-63. We obtained the width (400 yds) of the tornado based on power poles snapped along County Road 50. One single family residence was struck with minor damage to the house, and significant damage to all outbuildings and trees on the property, consistent with EF-1 damage. Debris from the property was carried approximately one mile to the south-southwest. Further south of the damaged property, power poles were snapped and thrown a considerable distance (25 yds), consistent with EF-2 intensity. The power poles were on the west side of AA, just north of County Road 48. Video evidence and the results of the storm survey, suggest that the tornado dissipated just before 6 PM MDT. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Messex | - | In-situ Collaborative Experiment for the Collection of Hail In the Plains (ICECHIP) reported the large hail. |
| July 2025 | Hail | Messex | - | The hail stone was picked up an hour and a half after the event. The largest measured stone was 2.1 inches. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Messex | - | The wind gusts was recorded at the mesonet station CO183 I-76 Merino exit. |
| June 2023 | Tornado (EF1) | Messex | - | A tornado touched down and damaged a house. |
| June 2018 | Hail | Messex | - | Hail, two inches in depth, covered the roadways. |
| July 2018 | Hail | Messex | - | Large hail broke the window of a patrol car along Interstate 70 near Hillrose. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Messex | - | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Hail | Messex | - | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Messex | - | no account filed |
| July 2018 | Hail | Messex | - | no account filed |
| August 2009 | Hail | Messex | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Messex | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Messex | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Messex | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q6821942 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 182869. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.




