Phillips County, Montana

What hazards hit Phillips County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 276 since 1961. 82% of its hail reports since 1961 fell in June and July. The rank column places the county among Montana'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 Phillips County had?

NOAA records 14 tornadoes in Phillips County from 1971 to 2024, the strongest rated EF1, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. That is 22nd of 56 Montana 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 15 tornadoes whose track touched Phillips County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 14: 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 Montana.

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 Phillips County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the July 4, 2015 thunderstorm wind ($100,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

A total of 19 three-phase poles and 11 single phase were reported damaged. This included poles broken at ground level, as well as cross arms broken and wires snapped. The radar indicated a bow echo through the area and wind speeds are estimated. Damage is estimated at $75k to 80k.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 593675)

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 Phillips 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).

Drought in the 2020-26: 98 records against 22 in the decade before, 98 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 Phillips 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?

82% of its hail reports since 1961 fell in June and July. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Phillips County

FEMA's register lists 10 declarations that include Phillips County: 8 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (3) and biological (2).

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 Phillips County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 55 flood or flash flood records for Phillips County from 1997 to 2023, on 49 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Phillips County ranks 1784th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $135,000 on 39 claims filed in Phillips County; the most in one year was 19 in 1978. 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 Phillips County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Phillips County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $7.7 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 Phillips County

1. Valley County 1,841
2. Phillips County 1,330
3. Fergus County 1,027
4. Garfield County 885
5. Blaine County 566
6. Petroleum County 389

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 MontanaEvery Montana tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Hail in MontanaThe state's hail reports, by county, year and month
• The Montana recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Phillips CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Phillips County's FEMA declarations (CSV)10 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis