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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.

Messex within Washington County

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 10 printed sheets

Matched 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.

Fires near this place

20 since 2011

Regional 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/undetermined13
Equipment and vehicle use3
Smoking2
Debris and open burning2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
31 August 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMerino Fire DepartmentUNKNOWN
31 August 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMerino Fire DepartmentUNKNOWN
30 August 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMerino Fire DepartmentUNKNOWN
30 August 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresColorado State Forest Service-State HeadquartersMERINO
9 July 2016Equipment and vehicle use5.0 acresMerino Fire DepartmentUNKNOWN
4 July 2018Smokingunder an acreMerino Fire DepartmentUNKNOWN
24 July 2018Equipment and vehicle use50 acresSterling Fire RescueUNKNOWN
1 July 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMerino Fire DepartmentUNKNOWN

Every fire recorded in Washington County

Mines and quarries near this place

5 within 5 miles

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
UnknownFire Clay (Refractory)Occurrence
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
UnkSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrenceGravel
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Washington County

Storms near this place

18 since 2004

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
September 2013FloodMessex$10,000,000The 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 2015FloodMessex$5,000,000A 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 2008Flash FloodMessex$10,000Heavy rain caused considerable damage to several county roads and culverts south of Akron.
May 2025HailMessex-Colorado Parks and Wildlife employee reported golf ball sized hail at Prewitt Reservoir.
May 2025Tornado (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 2025HailMessex-In-situ Collaborative Experiment for the Collection of Hail In the Plains (ICECHIP) reported the large hail.
July 2025HailMessex-The hail stone was picked up an hour and a half after the event. The largest measured stone was 2.1 inches.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindMessex-The wind gusts was recorded at the mesonet station CO183 I-76 Merino exit.
June 2023Tornado (EF1)Messex-A tornado touched down and damaged a house.
June 2018HailMessex-Hail, two inches in depth, covered the roadways.
July 2018HailMessex-Large hail broke the window of a patrol car along Interstate 70 near Hillrose.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindMessex-no account filed
June 2018HailMessex-no account filed
June 2018Thunderstorm WindMessex-no account filed
July 2018HailMessex-no account filed
August 2009HailMessex-no account filed
May 2004HailMessex-no account filed
May 2004HailMessex-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Washington County

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.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Midway14.2 miles8
Pinneo15.2 miles8
Xenia19.1 miles8
Akron22.0 miles7
Burdett26.1 miles6
Platner27.2 miles6
Rago29.5 miles8
Lone Star31.5 miles6

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 MessexAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q6821942The 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.