Ravalli County, Montana

What hazards hit Ravalli County most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 432 since 1996. 43% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. 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 Ravalli County had?

NOAA records 3 tornadoes in Ravalli County from 1975 to 1990, the strongest rated F2, with 0 deaths and 1 injury 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 3 tornadoes whose track touched Ravalli County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 3, the same count); 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 Ravalli County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the May 18, 2026 frost/freeze (6 injuries and $10,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

The Ravalli County Airport recorded a low of 21 degrees, while a National Weather Service employees observation in the Ranch Club area recorded 22 degrees. On May 19, lows ranged from 30 to 33 degrees. Orchards in the Bitterroot Valley reported that approximately one-third of their apple crops did not fruit due to the combination of an early warm winter, early budding, and these May freezes.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1329748)

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 Ravalli 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).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

43% 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 Ravalli County

FEMA's register lists 13 declarations that include Ravalli County: 7 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 4 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for fire (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 Ravalli County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 30 flood or flash flood records for Ravalli County from 1996 to 2021, on 24 days, with 1 death. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Ravalli County ranks 1823rd of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $115,000 on 36 claims filed in Ravalli County; the most in one year was 20 in 1997. 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 Ravalli County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Ravalli County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $37.0 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 Ravalli County

1. Missoula County 1,530
2. Ravalli County 768
3. Granite County 759
4. Idaho County, ID 638
5. Beaverhead County 607
6. Deer Lodge County 429
7. Lemhi County, ID 350

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
• Winter storms in MontanaThe state's winter storm records, 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 Ravalli CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Ravalli County's FEMA declarations (CSV)13 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis