Teton County, Wyoming
County storm and disaster record · FIPS 56039 · population 23,250 · 3,997 sq mi
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 771 records for Teton County, Wyoming from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 495 days; the most frequent are winter storm records (504 records). 651 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 February 27, 2009 avalanche, filed for the forecast zone Teton & Gros Ventre Mountains, which covers the county: 3 deaths. FEMA has issued 5 declarations naming the county since 2001, 3 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Severe Winter Storm and Straight-Line Winds” on March 21, 2017.
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
- 771on 495 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths recorded
- 3599 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $11Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- Tornadoes
- 3strongest F4
- FEMA declarations
- 5latest 2020
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 Teton County most?
The most frequent records are winter storm records: 504 since 1996. 41% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. The rank column places the county among Wyoming'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 | 504 | 284 | 1996-2026 | 0 | 1 | $1.9M | 6 of 23 |
| Landslides and avalanches | 58 | 57 | 2004-2025 | 32 | 28 | $1.1M | 1 of 23 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 56 | 50 | 1970-2026 | 0 | 12 | $547K | 18 of 23 |
| Wildfires | 40 | 34 | 2000-2024 | 0 | 0 | $116K | 1 of 23 |
| Hail | 34 | 24 | 1982-2022 | 0 | 2 | – | 18 of 23 |
| Extreme cold | 26 | 14 | 1996-2024 | 0 | 0 | – | 14 of 23 |
| High wind and dust storms | 22 | 17 | 1996-2026 | 0 | 3 | $987K | 23 of 23 |
| Floods | 11 | 10 | 1998-2023 | 0 | 0 | $158K | 17 of 23 |
| Lightning | 10 | 10 | 1999-2022 | 3 | 53 | – | 1 of 23 |
| Heat | 5 | 4 | 2021-2026 | 0 | 0 | – | 8 of 23 |
| Tornadoes | 3 | 3 | 1987-2025 | 0 | 0 | $6.5M | 23 of 23 |
| Heavy rain | 1 | 1 | 2017-2017 | 0 | 0 | $12K | 10 of 23 |
| Fog, smoke and funnel clouds | 1 | 1 | 2003-2003 | 0 | 0 | – | 22 of 23 |
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 Teton County had?
NOAA records 3 tornadoes in Teton County from 1987 to 2025, the strongest rated F4, 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 3 tornadoes whose track touched Teton County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 3, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.
| Date | Tornado | Rating | Path | Killed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987-07-21 14:50, as SPC files it | Unnamed | F4 | 24.3 mi | 0 |
Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Wyoming.
Every tornado record filed for Teton County (3)
| Date | Place | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-10-15 | Alta, Teton County | EF1 0.99 mi x 125 yd | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2022-06-12 | Kelly, Teton County | EF2 2.13 mi x 360 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1987-07-21 | Teton County | F4 24.3 mi x 2,550 yd | 0 | 0 | $2.5M 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 Teton County?
The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the December 20, 2025 avalanche (1 death).
Excerpt from the Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center Accident Report: On Saturday, December 20, 2025 at approximately 2 PM, one skier in a party of two unintentionally triggered an avalanche on a north-facing, steep, rocky, and sparsely treed chute known as The Claw approximately two miles south of the main parking lot at Teton Pass. The slope failed above the skier. The debris ran 1,000 feet (600′ vertical fall) to the base of the avalanche path, carrying and critically burying the first skier among trees. The skier was taken to the local hospital and later flown to a larger regional medical center where he died six days later of multi-systems trauma sustained in the avalanche.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1306378)
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-20 | Thunderstorm WindJenny Lake, Teton County | 72 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-05-13 | Thunderstorm WindJackson Hole Ar, Teton County | 59 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-04-01 | Winter StormFremont County and 3 more · forecast zone Teton & Gros Ventre Mountains | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-01 | Winter StormFremont County and 3 more · forecast zone Yellowstone National Park | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-17 | HeatFremont County and 3 more · forecast zone Yellowstone National Park | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-14 | High WindFremont County and 3 more · forecast zone Teton & Gros Ventre Mountains | 106 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-03-12 | High WindLincoln County and Teton County · forecast zone Jackson Hole | 70 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-03-12 | High WindFremont County and 3 more · forecast zone Teton & Gros Ventre Mountains | 107 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-02-24 | Winter StormFremont County and 3 more · forecast zone Teton & Gros Ventre Mountains | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-24 | Winter StormFremont County and 3 more · forecast zone Yellowstone National Park | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-12-22 | AvalancheFremont County and 3 more · forecast zone Teton & Gros Ventre Mountains | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-12-20 | AvalancheFremont County and 3 more · forecast zone Teton & Gros Ventre Mountains | 1 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-02-27 | AvalancheSublette County and Teton County · forecast zone Teton & Gros Ventre Mountains A group of four snowmobilers triggered a mile long, 100 yard wide avalanche in the Deadhorse Creek drainage near Alpine in Lincoln County. The group rode into a draw after dropping off a ridge line and the slab broke loose taking the lives of three men as they tried to outrun the slide. The lone survivor was able to ... | 3 | 0 | – | |
| 2015-05-17 | AvalancheSublette County and Teton County · forecast zone Teton & Gros Ventre Mountains Four skiers were climbing the Sickle Couloir on Mount Moran in Grand Teton National Park on Sunday morning, May 17, when a shallow, wet avalanche broke from above. Three of the four skiers were swept 500 feet downhill over rock and ice. One man was killed on the mountain and another succumbed to his injuries three ... | 2 | 1 | – | |
| 2016-01-24 | AvalancheSublette County and Teton County · forecast zone Teton & Gros Ventre Mountains Two skiers were killed by an avalanche on Ralph's Slide. | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2012-03-07 | AvalancheSublette County and Teton County · forecast zone Teton & Gros Ventre Mountains An avalanche on Ranger Peak killed two backcountry skiers Wednesday, March 7. The skiers were found the following day after a family member reported one of them missing. The avalanche occurred at 10,500 feet and swept the skiers 3,000 vertical feet down Waterfalls Canyon. Searchers found one skier 150 feet from the ... | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2011-04-16 | AvalancheSublette County and Teton County · forecast zone Teton & Gros Ventre Mountains Two backcountry skiers were buried by a large avalanche shed from the north face of Nez Perce Peak the night of Saturday, April 16 as the skiers were sheltering in their tents for the night. Late Saturday, April 23, rescuers from the National Park Service and Teton County Search and Rescue discovered the bodies of the ... | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2010-07-21 | LightningJenny Lake, Teton County Lightning struck Grand Teton mountain in Grand Teton National Park injuring 17 climbers that were among three separate private climbing parties. One of the injured ultimately fell 2,000 feet to his death as an indirect result of the lightning strike. The climbers were all above 13,000 feet MSL when the lightning storm ... | 1 | 17 | – | |
| 2003-07-26 | LightningJackson, Teton County One person died and five were seriously injured when they were struck by lightning while climbing Grand Teton. | 1 | 5 | – | |
| 2025-01-04 | AvalancheFremont County and 3 more · forecast zone Teton & Gros Ventre Mountains Summary from the USDA FS Bridger Teton Avalanche Center report titled Radio Tower Peak Avalanche Accident: On Saturday, January 4 2025, at approximately 11 am, a group of four skiers unintentionally triggered an avalanche on a north-facing, sparsely treed slope above a steep-walled gully approximately one mile from ... | 1 | 1 | – |
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-10-15 | Winter StormPark County and Teton County · forecast zone Yellowstone National Park Mt Id / W Park / N Teton | 0 | 0 | $1.8M | |
| 1999-03-16 | High WindSublette County and Teton County · forecast zone Lander Foothills | 0 | 0 | $886K | |
| 2011-05-14 | Debris FlowLincoln County and Teton County · forecast zone Jackson Hole | 0 | 0 | $656K | |
| 2004-07-18 | Debris FlowPark County and Teton County · forecast zone Yellowstone National Park | 0 | 0 | $430K | |
| 1996-08-05 | High WindPark County and Teton County · forecast zone Yellowstone National Park | 0 | 3 | $102K | |
| 2013-06-16 | Thunderstorm WindColter Bay Village, Teton County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 1 | $25K |
| 2008-12-29 | AvalancheSublette County and Teton County · forecast zone Teton & Gros Ventre Mountains | 0 | 5 | $21K | |
| 2011-06-29 | Thunderstorm WindMoran, Teton County | 70 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $20K |
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 $2.5M, in the dollars of the day) holds: July 21, 1987 (tornado, Teton 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 Teton 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 | – | – | – | – | 60 | 111 | 191 | 142 |
| Landslides and avalanches | – | – | – | – | 0 | 12 | 38 z | 8 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 0 | 0 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 13 |
| Wildfires | – | – | – | – | 0 | 12 | 20 | 8 |
| Hail | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 7 | 2 |
| Extreme cold | – | – | – | – | 6 | 1 | 8 | 11 |
Landslides and avalanches in the 2010s: 38 records against 12 in the decade before, 37 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 Teton 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?
41% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. The two busiest months are in violet.
The values, month by month
Jan 125 · Feb 121 · Mar 83 · Apr 33 · May 19 · Jun 41 · Jul 41 · Aug 44 · Sep 27 · Oct 33 · Nov 65 · Dec 139 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.
Federal disaster declarations for Teton County
FEMA's register lists 5 declarations that include Teton County: 3 major disasters, one emergency and one fire management assistance declaration. Most were for biological (2) and severe storm (2).
| Declared | Number | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-04-11 | DR-4535 | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| 2020-03-13 | EM-3479 | Biological | Covid-19 |
| 2017-03-21 | DR-4306 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm and Straight-Line Winds |
| 2011-07-22 | DR-4007 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides |
| 2001-07-26 | FM-2367 | Fire | Wy Wildfire -Green Knoll- July 23, 2001 |
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 Teton County had?
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 11 flood or flash flood records for Teton County from 1998 to 2023, on 10 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Teton County ranks 2020th of 2,942 U.S. counties.
The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $117,000 on 24 claims filed in Teton County; the most in one year was 11 in 1997. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.
The values, year by year
1978: 1 · 1986: 1 · 1992: 1 · 1996: 2 · 1997: 11 · 2011: 3 · 2017: 4 · 2019: 1; 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 Teton County
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Teton County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $40.3 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.
| Hazard | Risk rating | Expected annual loss | Modeled frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avalanche | Very High | $23M | 2.1 a year (modeled) |
| Lightning | Very High | $3.6M | 38 a year (modeled) |
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | $139K | 6.2 a year (modeled) |
| Wildfire | Relatively Moderate | $2.1M | once in about 322 years (modeled) |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | $145K | 38 a year (modeled) |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | $4.7M | once in about 27 years (modeled) |
| Volcanic Activity | Very Low | $86 | once in about 2,000 years (modeled) |
| Riverine Flooding | Very Low | $5.6M | once in about 3 years (modeled) |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.
Counties that share a border with Teton 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 WyomingEvery Wyoming tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
- Winter storms in WyomingThe state's winter storm records, by county, year and month
- The Wyoming recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
- FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Teton CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
- Download Teton County's FEMA declarations (CSV)5 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis