Toole County, Montana
County storm and disaster record · FIPS 30101 · population 4,971 · 1,915 sq mi
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 665 records for Toole County, Montana from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 466 days; the most frequent are high wind and dust records (425 records). 520 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 most damaging was the May 19, 2001 high wind ($12,000 in 2025 dollars). FEMA has issued 12 declarations naming the county since 1975, 10 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Severe Winter Storm and Flooding” on July 18, 2024.
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
- 665on 466 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths recorded
- 04 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $114Kas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- Tornadoes
- 6strongest F2
- FEMA declarations
- 12latest 2024
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 Toole County most?
The most frequent records are high wind and dust records: 425 since 2001. 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.
| Hazard | Records | Days | First, last | Killed | Injured | Damage | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High wind and dust storms | 425 | 295 | 2001-2026 | 0 | 4 | $12K | 5 of 56 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 68 | 43 | 1961-2026 | 0 | 0 | $51K | 34 of 56 |
| Hail | 58 | 51 | 1957-2025 | 0 | 0 | $20K | 34 of 56 |
| Winter storms | 52 | 50 | 2000-2026 | 0 | 0 | – | 47 of 56 |
| Extreme cold | 43 | 32 | 2008-2026 | 0 | 0 | – | 11 of 56 |
| Floods | 7 | 5 | 1998-2018 | 0 | 0 | $18K | 51 of 56 |
| Tornadoes | 6 | 4 | 1981-1994 | 0 | 0 | $13K | 27 of 56 |
| Heavy rain | 5 | 4 | 2013-2022 | 0 | 0 | – | 30 of 56 |
| Fog, smoke and funnel clouds | 1 | 1 | 2009-2009 | 0 | 0 | – | 50 of 56 |
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 Toole County had?
NOAA records 6 tornadoes in Toole County from 1981 to 1994, the strongest rated F2, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. That is 27th 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 7 tornadoes whose track touched Toole County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 6: 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.
Every tornado record filed for Toole County (6)
| Date | Place | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994-06-06 | Shelby, Toole County | F0 0.1 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1991-06-29 | Toole County | F0 0.2 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | $3K step |
| 1982-05-07 | Toole County | F2 0.5 mi x 20 yd | 0 | 0 | $3K step |
| 1982-05-07 | Toole County | F0 | 0 | 0 | $30 step |
| 1981-08-02 | Toole County | F0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1981-08-02 | Toole County | F0 | 0 | 0 | – |
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 Toole County?
The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the May 19, 2001 high wind (4 injuries and $12,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).
Sweetgrass Port-of-Entry (US Customs)...Winds caused dust storm with near zero visibility which caused a 5 car accident on Interstate Highway 15...Damage total includes automobile damage and injuries.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 5249966)
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-28 | High WindToole County and Liberty County · forecast zone Eastern Toole And Liberty | 56 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-16 | High WindToole County and Liberty County · forecast zone Eastern Toole And Liberty | 54 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-16 | High WindGlacier County and 2 more · forecast zone Eastern Glacier, Western Toole, And Central Pondera | 54 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-05-31 | High WindToole County and Liberty County · forecast zone Eastern Toole And Liberty | 62 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-05-26 | Thunderstorm WindShelby Airport, Toole County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-05-14 | High WindToole County and Liberty County · forecast zone Eastern Toole And Liberty | 55 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-05-14 | High WindGlacier County and 2 more · forecast zone Eastern Glacier, Western Toole, And Central Pondera | 54 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-05-13 | Thunderstorm WindKippen, Toole County | 51 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-04-22 | High WindToole County and Liberty County · forecast zone Eastern Toole And Liberty | 62 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-04-07 | High WindToole County and Liberty County · forecast zone Eastern Toole And Liberty | 54 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-04-07 | High WindGlacier County and 2 more · forecast zone Eastern Glacier, Western Toole, And Central Pondera | 55 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-03-25 | High WindToole County and Liberty County · forecast zone Eastern Toole And Liberty | 51 kt wind | 0 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-05-19 | High WindToole County · forecast zone Toole Sweetgrass Port-of-Entry (US Customs)...Winds caused dust storm with near zero visibility which caused a 5 car accident on Interstate Highway 15...Damage total includes automobile damage and injuries. | 52 kt wind | 0 | 4 | $12K |
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-05-19 | High WindToole County · forecast zone Toole | 52 kt wind | 0 | 4 | $12K |
| 1995-06-15 | Thunderstorm WindOf Shelby, Toole County | 0 | 0 | $2K |
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 $3K, in the dollars of the day) holds: May 7, 1982 (tornado, Toole County); June 29, 1991 (tornado, Toole 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 Toole 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High wind and dust storms | – | – | – | – | 0 | 59 | 103 | 263 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 22 | 22 |
| Hail | 1 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 14 | 5 |
| Winter storms | – | – | – | – | 0 | 22 | 13 | 17 |
| Extreme cold | – | – | – | – | 0 | 1 | 11 | 31 |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).
What time of year?
Records by month in Toole County. The two busiest months are in violet.
The values, month by month
Jan 81 · Feb 82 · Mar 51 · Apr 42 · May 46 · Jun 75 · Jul 56 · Aug 30 · Sep 24 · Oct 52 · Nov 63 · Dec 63 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.
Federal disaster declarations for Toole County
FEMA's register lists 12 declarations that include Toole County: 10 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (5) and flood (3).
| Declared | Number | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-07-18 | DR-4801 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm and Flooding |
| 2020-03-31 | DR-4508 | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| 2020-03-13 | EM-3476 | Biological | Covid-19 |
| 2018-08-30 | DR-4388 | Flood | Flooding |
| 2016-05-24 | DR-4271 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm and Straight-Line Winds |
| 2011-06-17 | DR-1996 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms and Flooding |
| 2005-09-13 | EM-3253 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| 2002-07-03 | DR-1424 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms and Flooding |
| 2000-08-30 | DR-1340 | Fire | Wildfires |
| 1996-05-16 | DR-1113 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Flooding, Ice Jams, Soil Saturation |
| 1986-03-15 | DR-761 | Flood | Heavy Rains, Landslides & Flooding |
| 1975-06-28 | DR-472 | Flood | Rains, Showmelt, Storms & Flooding |
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 Toole County had?
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 7 flood or flash flood records for Toole County from 1998 to 2018, on 5 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Toole County ranks 2830th of 2,942 U.S. counties.
The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $416 on 1 claim filed in Toole County; the most in one year was 1 in 1982. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.
The values, year by year
1982: 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 Toole County
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Toole County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $4.5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | $2.4M | 11 a year (modeled) |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | $39K | 22 a year (modeled) |
| Drought | Relatively Low | $52K | 59 modeled event-days a year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | $34K | once in about 2,915 years (modeled) |
| Earthquake | Very Low | $60K | once in about 883 years (modeled) |
| Landslide | Very Low | $151 | once in about 3 years (modeled) |
| Riverine Flooding | Very Low | $1.8M | once in about 6 years (modeled) |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | $81K | once in about 2 years (modeled) |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.
Counties that share a border with Toole 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 MontanaEvery Montana tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
- High wind and dust storms in MontanaThe state's high wind and dust 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 Toole CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
- Download Toole County's FEMA declarations (CSV)12 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis