Idaho natural disasters

The state's storm and disaster record · population 1,837,016 · 44 counties and county equivalents

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 12,071 storm events in Idaho since 1950, 11,122 of them since 1996 when every event type began to be recorded, and the Storm Prediction Center counts 226 tornadoes in the state since 1950. The most frequent records are winter storm records (4,944). In NOAA's storm record since 1950, the deadliest storm in Idaho is the June 1, 2015 thunderstorm wind in Bear Lake County: 4 deaths, 3 injuries and $3,735 in damage in 2025 dollars across 3 records. FEMA has made 61 declarations for Idaho since 1956, 59 for natural hazards; 35 were major disasters.

The record, 1950 to 2026

Storm events recorded in Idaho 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 $1 million
$1 million or more
$10 million or more
$100 million or more, or 10 deaths
$1 billion or more, or 100 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 events recorded: 12,0711950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded: 134434 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $1.6Bas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes (SPC): 2261950 to 2025
FEMA declarations: 6135 major disasters

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); tornado count: NOAA Storm Prediction Center, 1950-2025; damage in 2025 dollars (BLS CPI-U). Search the record at NCEI.

What natural disasters happen in Idaho?

By NOAA's records, Idaho's most frequent hazards are winter storm records (4,944), severe thunderstorm wind events (2,672), hail reports (1,113); the deadliest are winter storm records (45 deaths). Each hazard is counted over the years NOAA has recorded it everywhere: tornadoes since 1950, hail and thunderstorm wind since 1955, everything else since 1996. Open a hazard for its years, months, counties and worst events.

Idaho: records by hazard to June 30, 2026
Hazard	Records	Last 10 years	Killed	Injured	Damage	Counties
Winter storms	4,944	2,051	45	104	$148M	44 of 44
Severe thunderstorm wind	2,672	1,131	19	184	$33M	44 of 44
Hail	1,113	197	2	17	$42M	44 of 44
High wind and dust storms	931	510	7	41	$29M	44 of 44
Floods	790	288	3	5	$369M	44 of 44
Wildfires	431	167	6	27	$835M	40 of 44
Heavy rain	262	101	1	1	$80M	40 of 44
Tornadoes	224	18	0	9	$26M	40 of 44
Extreme cold	189	78	4	1	$91K	41 of 44
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds	184	85	3	15	$388K	42 of 44
Landslides and avalanches	167	105	38	12	$11M	33 of 44
Lightning	76	18	4	18	$3.6M	22 of 44
Heat	70	46	2	0	–	32 of 44
Drought	18	0	0	0	–	17 of 44

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: every record counted once in the state; "last 10 years" is 2017-2026 (2026 to June 30, 2026).

What were the deadliest disasters in Idaho?

The storms with the most deaths since 1950, from the National Weather Service's own entries. NOAA files one storm as several records when it crosses forecast zones and counties or changes type, and groups them under one episode; each row here is an episode, with its totals and the narrative of its deadliest record. Before 1996 tornado records carry no episode and stand alone. The narrative says what happened: some deaths the National Weather Service files under a weather type had another cause beside the weather.

Idaho: the 10 storm episodes with the most deaths
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2015-06-01	Thunderstorm WindSt Charles, Bear Lake County One storm episode: 3 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Much of southeast Idaho received severe thunderstorm winds and large hail on June 1st including a boating accident on Bear Lake with 4 fatalities from the severe thunderstorm winds capsizing a boat.	61 kt wind	4	3	$4K
2021-05-01	Thunderstorm WindMountain Home A, Elmore County The AWOS at Mountain Home AFB measured a 58 MPH wind gust with several reports of damage received by the public. A dust storm from the gust front of a nearby thunderstorm reduced visibility to near zero, resulting in a 7 car accident with 3 fatalities. Idaho State Police officials reported the accident was on Highway ...	50 kt wind	3	5	–
2020-01-07	AvalancheBenewah County and 3 more · forecast zone Central Panhandle Mountains Broadcast media reported an Avalanche at the Silver Mountain Ski Resort.		3	2	–
1986-04-22	Thunderstorm WindFremont County		3	0	–
1988-08-10	Thunderstorm WindCassia County		2	10	–
2014-12-24	Winter StormBannock County and 2 more · forecast zone Lower Snake River Plain A powerful winter storm dropped 6 to 8 inches of snow in the cities of Chubbuck and Pocatello with 8 to 10 inches on the Pocatello east and west benches. A fatal traffic accident occurred on interstate 15 in south Pocatello in which a mother and her daughter died with injuries to 5 other children in the vehicle. The ...		2	8	$19K
2003-02-22	AvalancheBonner County and 2 more · forecast zone Northern Panhandle After a night of new snowfall and warming daytime temperatures, two separate avalanches occurred just an hour and a half apart and within 20 miles of each other. The first event took place around 11:30 am near Keokee Lake about 10 miles northwest of Schweitzer Ski Resort. A couple of back country skiers were caught in ...		2	3	–
2004-01-02	AvalancheCamas County and Elmore County · forecast zone Camas Prairie The Avalanche was located about 10 miles north of Fairfield and 1 mile south of the Soldier Mountain Ski Resort. The snow slide was 500 to 700 feet long. Snow from the Avalanche destroyed a two story cabin, filling the first floor with snow, and killing two occupants who were asleep. Five other occupants on the second ...		2	2	–
2023-11-05	HailMacks Inn, Fremont County Just before 3 pm a pickup truck crashed into a semi tractor trailer and both individuals in the pickup truck died due to the accident. One individual in the semi was airlifted to a local hospital with injuries. The accident occurred 1 mile south of Macks Inn on US Highway 20. Small hail accumulating to 3 to 4 inches ...	0.25 in hail	2	1	–
2021-01-13	High WindKootenai County · forecast zone Coeur D'alene Area One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's. A strong cold front moved through northern Idaho on the morning of January 13th. With this front, severe winds swept through the Idaho Panhandle bringing widespread damage, fallen trees, and power outages. Overall, it took a week to restore power to all who lost it. Due to extensive wind damage and in effort to ...	56 kt wind	2	1	$5.5M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed in this state, summed over the records of each episode (EPISODE_ID); a forecast-zone record counts the zone's deaths once. A tornado's whole-track deaths (SPC), on the state's tornado page, can be higher when the track crossed a state line. Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest records in Idaho

Idaho: the 8 records with the most damage since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Character	Injured	Damage
2012-06-28	WildfireBannock County and 3 more · forecast zone Caribou Highlands		0	$607M
2017-01-18	Heavy SnowCanyon County and 4 more · forecast zone Lower Treasure Valley		0	$120M
1997-06-01	FloodGooding County and 2 more · forecast zone Western Magic Valley		0	$92M
1996-02-08	FloodLemhi County · forecast zone Western Lemhi County		1	$83M
2018-04-07	HailIdaho Falls, Bonneville County	2.00 in hail	0	$35M
2023-09-01	WildfireBenewah County and 3 more · forecast zone Central Panhandle Mountains		0	$23M
2023-08-03	WildfireBenewah County and 3 more · forecast zone Central Panhandle Mountains		0	$23M
2025-09-01	WildfireBonner County and 2 more · forecast zone Northern Panhandle		0	$18M

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: April 7, 1978 (tornado, Bonneville County).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. BLS consumer price index.

Which counties in Idaho have the most records?

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950 attributed to each county (forecast-zone records count on every county the zone covers).

Every county in Idaho

Billion-dollar disasters in Idaho

NOAA counted 32 weather or climate disasters from 1980-2024 that cost at least $1 billion (adjusted for inflation) and affected Idaho, led by wildfire (15). The most recent: Southern/Eastern/Northwestern Drought and Heat Wave (2024); Western Wildfires (2022); Western/Central Drought and Heat Wave (2022).

Idaho: billion-dollar disasters by type, 1980-2024
Type	Events	Total cost (NOAA's range)
Wildfire	15	$2.0B-$5.0B
Drought	13	$2.0B-$5.0B
Flooding	3	$500M-$1.0B
Freeze	1	$5M-$100M

Every one of the 32, newest first

Southern/Eastern/Northwestern Drought and Heat Wave2024
Western Wildfires2022
Western/Central Drought and Heat Wave2022
Western Wildfires2021
Western Drought and Heat Wave2021
Western Wildfires - California, Oregon, Washington Firestorms2020
Western Wildfires, California Firestorm2018
Western Wildfires, California Firestorm2017
Western/Southeast Wildfires2016
Western and Alaskan Wildfires2015
Western Drought2015
Western Drought2014
Western/Plains Drought/Heat Wave2013
Western Wildfires2012
U.S. Drought/Heat Wave2012
Texas, New Mexico, Arizona Wildfires2011
Southwest/Great Plains Drought2009
U.S. Wildfires2008
U.S. Drought2008
Western/Eastern Drought/Heat Wave2007
Western Wildfires2007
Numerous Wildfires2006
California Wildfires2003
Western/Central Drought/Heat Wave2003
U.S. Drought2002
Western Fire Season2000
West Coast Flooding1997
Pacific Northwest Severe Flooding1996
Western Fire Season1990
U.S. Drought/Heat Wave1988
Freeze/Cold Wave1983
Western Storms and Flooding1982

Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters, state summary for Idaho, 1980-2024 (NCEI's last update; the product is archived). A disaster that affected several states counts in each. NCEI billion-dollar disasters.

Federal disaster declarations in Idaho

FEMA has made 61 declarations for Idaho since 1956: 35 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 23 fire management assistance declarations. The most common incident types are fire (26), flood (18), severe storm (9).

1950s 2
1960s 6
1970s 6
1980s 3
1990s 3
2000s 8
2010s 20
2020s 13

The 15 most recent declarations in Idaho
Declared	Number	Type	Title	Areas named
2026-08-02	FM-5660	Fire	Tartar Fire	1
2026-06-30	DR-4917	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	6
2026-04-07	DR-4905	Straight-Line Winds	Straight-Line Winds	10
2025-08-15	FM-5607	Fire	Sunset Fire	1
2024-07-26	FM-5520	Fire	Gwen Fire	3
2024-07-16	FM-5510	Fire	Texas Fire	2
2024-06-10	DR-4789	Flood	Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	3
2022-09-05	FM-5452	Fire	Ross Fork Fire	1
2022-08-19	FM-5449	Fire	Four Corners Fire	3
2021-08-13	FM-5407	Fire	Bedrock Fire	2
2021-03-04	DR-4589	Severe Storm	Straight-Line Winds	4
2020-04-09	DR-4534	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	49
2020-03-13	EM-3467	Biological	Covid-19	44
2019-06-12	DR-4443	Flood	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	6
2018-07-29	FM-5263	Fire	Grassy Ridge Fire	1

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

Flood insurance claims in Idaho

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $10.3 million on 1,086 claims in 37 Idaho counties. Claims count insured losses only.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk across Idaho's counties

How FEMA's National Risk Index rates Idaho's counties overall: a model of expected future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of events.

Relatively Moderate 2
Relatively Low 17
Very Low 25

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.