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Vernon, Colorado

8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1983. It stands in the Wray census division. It lies in ZIP code area 80755. The Survey maps it on the Vernon quadrangle. 38 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 3,937 feet above sea level.

Vernon within Yuma County

Population over time

2 figures

Vernon grew from 29 to 38 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
201029
202038+9 (+31%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 8 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

3 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 3 fires within 5 miles of Vernon between 2000 and 2015, burning about 3 acres in total. 1 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/undetermined2
Natural1

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
16 August 2000Naturalunder an acreNorthwest District, CraigBISON
27 November 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresColorado State Forest Service-State Headquartersnot named
8 October 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWray Volunteer Fire Department (Yuma County Fire Protection District)UNKNOWN

Every fire recorded in Yuma County

Storms near this place

60 of 98 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Vernon in 98 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 75 hail, 20 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 1 funnel cloud. 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
June 2010Tornado (EF1)Vernon$380,000A tornado developed about 6 miles SW of Vernon and tracked southeast, dissipating just west of Beecher Island. Winds estimated at 100 mph in the Rear Flank downdraft just south of the tornado also caused extensive damage. forty eight utility poles were downed, three irrigation pivots were overturned, a barn was destroyed, several trailer homes were damaged, and the roof of the small auditorium in Beecher Island was heavily damaged.
August 2008Thunderstorm WindVernon$2,000A possible microburst blew down a tree, breaking a window and causing damage to house siding. A chimney was also blown off a house.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindVernon$500Power pole partially bent over near Road Z and Road 19.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindVernon$200Anchored tent ripped apart.
May 2025HailVernon-Observer reported hail ranging from nickel to golf ball in size.
May 2024HailVernon-Trained spotter estimated nickel sized hail.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindVernon-Trained spotter estimated wind gusts around 50 to 60 MPH.
June 2024HailVernon-Spotter reported dime to penny side hail at the location.
August 2024HailVernon-Report of 2.5 inch diameter hail.
August 2024Tornado (EFU)Vernon-Storm chaser relayed a photo to us of a shed in Vernon that appeared to be thrown to the west about 75 feet. The direction of the storms were to the southeast. Tornado rated EF-U because we were un able to determine how structurally sound the shed was before the tornado occurred.
May 2024HailVernon-Public report via social media of quarter hail 1/2 mile north of Vernon, CO.
May 2023HailVernon-Up to nickel sized hail reported over a duration of 15 minutes that ended at the time of the report.
July 2023HailVernon-Spotter reported hail up to pennies in size hail at location.
August 2023HailVernon-The hail ranged from ping pong to golf ball in size.
August 2023HailVernon-The hail ranged from quarter to half-dollar in size.
August 2023HailVernon-Nickel sized hail reported at location.
August 2023HailVernon-Golf ball size hail reported just north of Vernon.
August 2023HailVernon-The hail started out as quarter in size then increased to ping pong ball size.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindVernon-Spotter reported an estimated 60 mph thunderstorm wind gust at location.
July 2022HailVernon-Storm total rainfall was 1.23 inches.
June 2022HailVernon-Spotter reported hail ranging from a pea to a quarter in size falling at location.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindVernon-Spotter reported a measured 60 mph thunderstorm wind gust on personal weather station at location.
June 2020HailVernon-Pea to dime size hail reported at location. Time is radar estimated.
August 2020HailVernon-Trained spotter observed various sized hail from pea to penny in size.
July 2020HailVernon-Public citizen observed nickel sized hail with winds gusting up to 40 mph.
July 2020HailVernon-A public citizen reported hail slightly larger than golf ball sized that was on the ground for approximately 10 minutes before being estimated for size.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindVernon-A trained spotter observed an estimated 60 mph wind as a thunderstorm moved over the location.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindVernon-Estimated wind gusts of 70 MPH occurred.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindVernon-An estimated wind gust of 60 MPH occurred.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindVernon-Tree limbs were snapped with a diameter of 3 to 5 inches.
June 2016HailVernon-Hail up to the size of nickels fell.
April 2010HailVernon-Spotter reported a lot of hail covering the ground.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindVernon-Spotter was located near tornado as it passed south of Vernon.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindVernon-Five inch diameter branches down.
July 2006HailVernon-Penny-sized hail along highway C.
August 2005HailVernon-Penny sized hail was accompanied by estimated 50 mph winds.
May 2005HailVernon-Hail covered the ground.
July 2004Thunderstorm WindVernon-Numerous 2-inch limbs down.
August 2004HailVernon-Minor flooding in fields.
August 2004HailVernon-Hail has continued for 20 minutes. Vehicle windshield broken.
August 2004HailVernon-House shingles damaged.
September 2004Thunderstorm WindVernon-Four sections of irrigation pivot blown over.
April 2001Thunderstorm WindVernon-Numerous utility poles and irrigation sprinklers damaged. Grain bins blown over, including a 30,000 bushel steel bin. Damage significant, but unknown.
May 1998HailVernon-Accompanied by 60 to 70 mph wind. Lasted 10 minutes.
September 1997Thunderstorm WindVernon-Spotter estimated 60 mph wind.
September 1997HailVernon-Hail accompanied by 40 to 50 mph wind.
August 2020HailVernon-no account filed
August 2020HailVernon-no account filed
July 2020HailVernon-no account filed
July 2020HailVernon-no account filed
June 2019HailVernon-no account filed
August 2019HailVernon-no account filed
August 2019HailVernon-no account filed
August 2019HailVernon-no account filed
August 2019HailVernon-no account filed
August 2019HailVernon-no account filed
July 2018HailVernon-no account filed
July 2015HailVernon-no account filed
May 2014HailVernon-no account filed
July 2013HailVernon-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Yuma 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
Beecher Island8.6 miles10
Wray10.2 miles9
Robb11.2 miles7
Heartstrong13.9 miles8
Laird14.6 miles9
Eckley14.8 miles8
Armel15.1 miles10
Idalia16.8 miles8

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 VernonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q7922034The 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 183063. 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.

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.