Latah County, Idaho

What hazards hit Latah County most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 577 since 1996. 52% 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 Latah County had?

NOAA records 4 tornadoes in Latah County from 1973 to 1991, the strongest rated F1, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. That is 16th of 44 Idaho counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. 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 Latah 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 Latah County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 16, 2026 wildfire ($1.5 million in damage in 2025 dollars).

The fire start 8 miles from east of Kellogg. It burned an estimated 213 acres of timber, litter, and 3 out buildings. Around 200 people impacted by evacuations around Elizabeth Park and Elk Creek. It was contained on June 23. Wind gusts were into the low 20 mph range. Damage is estimated.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1353402)

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 Latah 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 5 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 Latah 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?

52% 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 Latah County

FEMA's register lists 16 declarations that include Latah County: 12 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 2 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (5) and severe storm (3).

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 Latah County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 52 flood or flash flood records for Latah County from 1996 to 2026, on 37 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Latah County ranks 1558th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $744,000 on 61 claims filed in Latah County; the most in one year was 21 in 1996. 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 Latah County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Latah County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $13.3 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 Latah County

1. Latah County 826
2. Benewah County 777
3. Shoshone County 609
4. Clearwater County 516
5. Whitman County, WA 343
6. Nez Perce County 310

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 Latah CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Latah County's FEMA declarations (CSV)16 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis