Caribou County, Idaho

What hazards hit Caribou County most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 340 since 1996. 46% of its winter storm records since 1996 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.

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 Caribou County had?

NOAA records 4 tornadoes in Caribou County from 1962 to 2023, the strongest rated EF0, 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 4 tornadoes whose track touched Caribou County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 4, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Idaho.

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 Caribou County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the May 13, 2026 thunderstorm wind (3 injuries and $25,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Blowing dust from strong thunderstorm outflow winds caused blowing dust and a 5 vehicle crash on Idaho Highway 34 north of Soda Springs. Several injuries occurred and 3 individuals were transported to a hospital.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1343797)

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

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 Caribou 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).

Wildfires in the 2010s: 24 records against 6 in the decade before, 24 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 Caribou 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?

46% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Caribou County

FEMA's register lists 5 declarations that include Caribou County: 2 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for biological (2) and hurricane (1).

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 Caribou County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 12 flood or flash flood records for Caribou County from 1997 to 2023, on 11 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Caribou County ranks 2830th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $8,023 on 1 claim filed in Caribou County; the most in one year was 1 in 2017. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

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 Caribou County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Caribou County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $4.9 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.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Caribou County

1. Bingham County 1,175
2. Bonneville County 929
3. Bannock County 862
4. Lincoln County, WY 795
5. Caribou County 545
6. Bear Lake County 328
7. Franklin County 279

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 Caribou CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Caribou County's FEMA declarations (CSV)5 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis