Blaine County, Idaho
County storm and disaster record · FIPS 16013 · population 24,251 · 2,638 sq mi
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 688 records for Blaine County, Idaho from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 493 days; the most frequent are winter storm records (394 records). 571 of them are forecast-zone records, which the National Weather Service files once per zone: a county covered by several zones receives each one, so a single storm can add several records on the same day. The deadliest single record is the April 15, 2002 heavy snow, filed for the forecast zone Eastern Magic Valley, which covers the county: 2 deaths. FEMA has issued 10 declarations naming the county since 1964, 8 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Ross Fork Fire” on September 5, 2022.
The record, 1950 to 2026
Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $100,000
- $100,000 or more
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more, or a death
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
- 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
- Storm records
- 688on 493 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths recorded
- 1328 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $33Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- Tornadoes
- 6strongest F0
- FEMA declarations
- 10latest 2022
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.
What hazards hit Blaine County most?
The most frequent records are winter storm records: 394 since 1997. 49% of its winter storm records since 1997 fell in December and January. The rank column places the county among Idaho's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.
| Hazard | Records | Days | First, last | Killed | Injured | Damage | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter storms | 394 | 269 | 1997-2026 | 6 | 14 | $739K | 28 of 44 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 59 | 42 | 1967-2026 | 0 | 0 | $209K | 31 of 44 |
| Wildfires | 55 | 54 | 1996-2025 | 0 | 0 | $4.7M | 15 of 44 |
| High wind and dust storms | 53 | 39 | 1997-2026 | 0 | 13 | $307K | 34 of 44 |
| Landslides and avalanches | 42 | 31 | 2004-2025 | 6 | 1 | $250K | 6 of 44 |
| Floods | 31 | 31 | 1997-2023 | 1 | 0 | $21M | 21 of 44 |
| Extreme cold | 14 | 10 | 2002-2025 | 0 | 0 | – | 23 of 44 |
| Heat | 11 | 7 | 2002-2026 | 0 | 0 | – | 12 of 44 |
| Hail | 9 | 8 | 1975-2019 | 0 | 0 | – | 42 of 44 |
| Tornadoes | 6 | 5 | 1988-2006 | 0 | 0 | $180K | 31 of 44 |
| Fog, smoke and funnel clouds | 5 | 5 | 2014-2024 | 0 | 0 | – | 32 of 44 |
| Drought | 4 | 2 | 2001-2002 | 0 | 0 | – | 16 of 44 |
| Lightning | 4 | 4 | 1997-2026 | 0 | 0 | $8K | 13 of 44 |
| Heavy rain | 1 | 1 | 2014-2014 | 0 | 0 | $5.6M | 39 of 44 |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.
How many tornadoes has Blaine County had?
NOAA records 6 tornadoes in Blaine County from 1988 to 2006, the strongest rated F0, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.
Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 7 tornadoes whose track touched Blaine County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 6: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.
Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Idaho.
Every tornado record filed for Blaine County (6)
| Date | Place | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-10-04 | Picabo, Blaine County | F0 1 mi x 70 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2005-05-05 | Carey, Blaine County | F0 0.4 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $166K |
| 2005-05-05 | Carey, Blaine County | F0 0.5 mi x 75 yd | 0 | 0 | $14K |
| 1995-06-05 | Magic Reservoir, Blaine County | F0 0.1 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1991-05-18 | Blaine County | F0 0.2 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1988-07-07 | Blaine County | F0 0.2 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | $250 step |
A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.
When was the last damaging storm in Blaine County?
The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 25, 2026 lightning ($6,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-25 | LightningHailey, Blaine County | 0 | 0 | $6K | |
| 2026-06-10 | High WindBlaine County and 2 more · forecast zone Shoshone-Lava Beds | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-05-13 | Thunderstorm WindCarey, Blaine County | 59 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-05-13 | Thunderstorm WindKetchum, Blaine County | 56 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $5K |
| 2026-03-14 | High WindBlaine County and Custer County · forecast zone Sun Valley Region | 51 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-03-14 | High WindBlaine County · forecast zone Wood River Foothills | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-03-14 | High WindBlaine County and 3 more · forecast zone Eastern Magic Valley | 54 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-03-14 | High WindBlaine County and 2 more · forecast zone Shoshone-Lava Beds | 56 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-03-01 | HeatBlaine County and Custer County · forecast zone Sawtooth-Stanley Basin | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-01 | HeatBlaine County and 3 more · forecast zone Eastern Magic Valley | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-16 | Winter StormBlaine County and 2 more · forecast zone Big Lost Highlands-Copper Basin | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-16 | Winter StormBlaine County and Custer County · forecast zone Sun Valley Region | 0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.
The deadliest and costliest records
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002-04-15 | Heavy SnowBlaine County and 3 more · forecast zone Eastern Magic Valley One day after thunderstorm winds caused extensive damage in southeast Idaho, a mid-April snowstorm dumped heavy wet snow over the same region. It was the heaviest snow of the season in the Snake River Plain. It ranked as the 8th greatest 24 hour snowfall ever at the Pocatello airport and 3rd greatest April snowfall ... | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2023-03-12 | AvalancheBlaine County and Custer County · forecast zone Sawtooth-Stanley Basin At around 1230 PM MDT a 29 year old snowmobiler was killed when buried under 6 feet of snow due to an avalanche near Observation Peak in the Stanley Lake Creek drainage area. The elevation was about 8,500 feet. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2022-04-13 | Winter WeatherBlaine County and 3 more · forecast zone Eastern Magic Valley A single engine Cessna 208B crashed into Gem State Processing in Heyburn a potato processing plant. The pilot was heading into the Burley Municipal Airport and crashed into the building at around 835 AM MDT. It occurred during a heavy snow showers and the visibility at the airport was around 1 mile between 8 and 9 AM. ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2021-02-19 | AvalancheBlaine County and Custer County · forecast zone Sun Valley Region A snowmobiler triggered an avalanche 8 miles southwest of Galena Summit in the Sawtooth recreation area and was killed by the avalanche. He was on a south facing slope near 9 thousand feet in elevation and triggered a very large avalanche that was approximately 500 feet wide and ran over 1000 vertical feet. He was ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2021-01-27 | Heavy SnowBlaine County and Custer County · forecast zone Sun Valley Region An atmospheric river event brought extreme snowfall amounts to the Sun Valley region over several days. 33.5 inches was measured by the COOP in Ketchum. Other amounts estimated at SNOTEL sites were: Chocolate Gulch 31 inches, Dollarhide Summit 42 inches, Galena 17 inches, Galena Summit 43 inches, Hyndman 21 inches, ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2020-01-15 | AvalancheBlaine County and Custer County · forecast zone Sun Valley Region An avalanche in the Baker Creek area in Blaine County killed a 50 year old man of Jerome Idaho. Two snowmobliers were caught in the avalanche at about 9,000 feet in elevation and only one survived. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2017-05-01 | FloodSun Vly, Blaine County Rain on top of continued snow melt pushed the Big Wood River to flood stage and eventually reaching moderate and major flood stage at Hailey. The entire Big Wood River Valley encountered major flooding with as many as 5,000 evacuations from Bellevue to Hailey to Ketchum and Sun Valley by May 6th. Many people went ... | 1 | 0 | $12M | |
| 2014-02-16 | AvalancheBlaine County · forecast zone Big And Little Wood River Region An avalanche occurred in Blaine County in the Smiley Creek area between Ketchum and Stanley. Four snowmobliers were buried in a meadow area when the avalanche occurred around 2 pm MST. Three of the snowmobliers survived with one fatality occurring. | 1 | 0 | – |
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-05-01 | FloodSun Vly, Blaine County | 1 | 0 | $12M | |
| 2014-08-01 | Heavy RainGalena, Blaine County | 0 | 0 | $5.6M | |
| 2017-06-01 | FloodSun Vly, Blaine County | 0 | 0 | $5.4M | |
| 2024-09-01 | WildfireBlaine County and Custer County · forecast zone Sawtooth-Stanley Basin | 0 | 0 | $1.9M | |
| 2023-06-01 | FloodHailey, Blaine County | 0 | 0 | $1.8M | |
| 2024-10-01 | WildfireBlaine County and Custer County · forecast zone Sawtooth-Stanley Basin | 0 | 0 | $1.4M | |
| 2013-08-09 | WildfireBlaine County · forecast zone Big And Little Wood River Region | 0 | 0 | $1.3M | |
| 2018-06-01 | FloodHailey, Blaine County | 0 | 0 | $1.1M |
Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $250, in the dollars of the day) holds: July 7, 1988 (tornado, Blaine County).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.
Is it getting more frequent?
Records per decade for Blaine County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).
| Hazard | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter storms | – | – | – | – | 15 | 115 | 132 | 132 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 17 | 10 | 20 |
| Wildfires | – | – | – | – | 2 | 10 | 26 | 17 |
| High wind and dust storms | – | – | – | – | 1 | 16 | 7 | 29 z |
| Landslides and avalanches | – | – | – | – | 0 | 3 | 15 | 24 |
| Floods | – | – | – | – | 1 | 9 | 17 | 4 |
High wind and dust storms in the 2020-26: 29 records against 7 in the decade before, 29 of them forecast-zone records. Cells marked z rose mostly through zone records. The local National Weather Service office files these once per forecast zone, so a change in how it draws its zones or splits a storm into records moves this count as much as the weather does; read it beside the Blaine County days with a record above.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).
What time of year?
49% of its winter storm records since 1997 fell in December and January. The two busiest months are in violet.
The values, month by month
Jan 93 · Feb 109 · Mar 72 · Apr 32 · May 29 · Jun 38 · Jul 52 · Aug 39 · Sep 22 · Oct 18 · Nov 52 · Dec 132 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.
Federal disaster declarations for Blaine County
FEMA's register lists 10 declarations that include Blaine County: 4 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 3 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for fire (4) and biological (2).
| Declared | Number | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-09-05 | FM-5452 | Fire | Ross Fork Fire |
| 2020-04-09 | DR-4534 | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| 2020-03-13 | EM-3467 | Biological | Covid-19 |
| 2017-08-27 | DR-4333 | Flood | Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides |
| 2013-08-15 | FM-5045 | Fire | Beaver Creek Fire |
| 2007-08-28 | FM-2724 | Fire | Castle Rock Fire |
| 2005-09-13 | EM-3244 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina |
| 2000-09-01 | DR-1341 | Fire | Wildfires |
| 1977-05-05 | EM-3040 | Drought | Drought |
| 1964-12-31 | DR-186 | Flood | Heavy Rains & Flooding |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.
How many floods has Blaine County had?
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 31 flood or flash flood records for Blaine County from 1997 to 2023, on 31 days, with 1 death. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Blaine County ranks 733rd of 2,942 U.S. counties.
The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $3.9 million on 309 claims filed in Blaine County; the most in one year was 153 in 2017. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.
The values, year by year
1978: 1 · 1979: 2 · 1980: 1 · 1982: 4 · 1983: 6 · 1984: 1 · 1993: 1 · 1995: 15 · 1997: 21 · 1999: 1 · 2001: 1 · 2003: 1 · 2005: 2 · 2006: 50 · 2008: 3 · 2009: 2 · 2011: 2 · 2012: 1 · 2014: 1 · 2017: 153 · 2018: 14 · 2019: 8 · 2020: 1 · 2023: 17; the other years: 0.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.
FEMA's modeled risk for Blaine County
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Blaine County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $28.2 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.
| Hazard | Risk rating | Expected annual loss | Modeled frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avalanche | Very High | $5.8M | once in about 2 years (modeled) |
| Winter Weather | Relatively High | $624K | 20 a year (modeled) |
| Wildfire | Relatively Moderate | $3.0M | once in about 128 years (modeled) |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | $41K | about once a year (modeled) |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | $1.2M | once in about 76 years (modeled) |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | $15M | 1 a year (modeled) |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | $808K | 1.7 modeled event-days a year |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | $308K | 26 a year (modeled) |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.
Counties that share a border with Blaine County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.
Next
- Tornadoes in IdahoEvery Idaho tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
- Winter storms in IdahoThe state's winter storm records, by county, year and month
- The Idaho recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
- FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Blaine CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
- Download Blaine County's FEMA declarations (CSV)10 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis