Idaho landslides and avalanches
Every recorded landslide or avalanche record since 1996 · 33 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 167 landslide and avalanche records in Idaho from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 6.7 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the January 7, 2020 avalanche in Benewah County and 3 more: 3 deaths and 2 injuries. Idaho ranks 6th of 37 states and territories by count and 7th of 37 per square mile.
Landslides and avalanches in Idaho, 1996 to 2026
Landslide records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.
- 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
- Records
- 1671996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 6.7average
- Deaths
- 3812 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $11Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 202327 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are landslide and avalanche records common in Idaho?
Idaho averages about 6.7 landslide and avalanche records a year since 2000, 6th of 37 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2023 (27). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Idaho records 20 landslide and avalanche records since 1996, 7th of 37 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in Idaho have the most landslide and avalanche records?
Per square mile, Teton County leads Idaho: 14 days with a landslide or avalanche record since 1996, 31.2 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Blaine County has the most landslide records (42 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is the slide season in Idaho?
43% of its landslide and avalanche records since 1996 fell in February and March. The busiest month is March (40 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 29 · Feb 32 · Mar 40 · Apr 22 · May 5 · Jun 8 · Jul 3 · Aug 13 · Sep 3 · Oct 0 · Nov 1 · Dec 11 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest landslide and avalanche records in Idaho?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | – | |
| 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 | – | |
| 2010-03-30 | AvalancheBoise County and 2 more · forecast zone Boise Mountains Two Washington state men died in an avalanche while snowmobiling about 17 miles north of McCall, Idaho. The size of the avalanche was estimated to be between 5 and 6 acres. | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 1998-01-03 | AvalancheClark County and 3 more · forecast zone Upper Snake Highlands During the first week of January, dangerous avalanche conditions prevailed in the mountainous regions of central and eastern Idaho. On January 3rd one avalanche killed a snowmobiler near Island Park. In the same area and at roughly the same time, a second snow snowmobiler was reported missing and presumed dead due to ... | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2021-12-17 | AvalancheBonneville County and 2 more · forecast zone Big Hole Mountains An avalanche near Driggs and Relay Ridge killed two teenage boys at around 2:45 PM on December 17th. It was in a backcountry area with one snow mobiler and one skier killed in the avalanche. | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2024-03-01 | AvalancheBonner County and 2 more · forecast zone Northern Panhandle Avalanche near Gunsight Peak resulted in 1 fatality. | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 2024-01-11 | AvalancheBenewah County and 3 more · forecast zone Central Panhandle Mountains Avalanche near Stevens Peak stranded 3 people, injured one and killed one. The area had received 29.7 inches of snow since January 3. | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 2014-02-16 | AvalancheBlaine County · forecast zone Big And Little Wood River Region An avalanche occurred in Blaine County in the Smiley Creek area between Ketchum and Stanley. Four snowmobliers were buried in a meadow area when the avalanche occurred around 2 pm MST. Three of the snowmobliers survived with one fatality occurring. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2013-12-26 | AvalancheBannock County and 3 more · forecast zone Caribou Highlands A snowmobiler died near Palisades Peak in Neely's Cove in Bonneville County due to an avalanche. | 1 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest landslide and avalanche records in Idaho
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-03-15 | Debris FlowMc Arthur, Boundary County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $4.1M | |
| 2020-01-01 | Debris FlowMoyie Spgs, Boundary County | 0 | 0 | $2.3M | |
| 2011-04-06 | Debris FlowBonner County and 2 more · forecast zone Northern Panhandle One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $1.7M | |
| 2012-03-30 | Debris FlowBenewah County and 3 more · forecast zone Central Panhandle Mountains | 0 | 0 | $987K | |
| 2016-03-06 | Debris FlowBonners Ferry, Boundary County | 0 | 0 | $615K | |
| 2000-01-22 | AvalancheClark County and 3 more · forecast zone Upper Snake Highlands | 0 | 1 | $2K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are landslide and avalanche records becoming more frequent in Idaho?
Idaho's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | Idaho | United States | Idaho's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 5 | 98 | 5.1% |
| 2000s | 18 | 790 | 2.3% |
| 2010s | 73 | 1,304 | 5.6% |
| 2020-26 | 71 | 1,224 | 5.8% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent landslide and avalanche records in Idaho
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-13 | AvalancheBenewah County and 3 more · forecast zone Central Panhandle Mountains | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | AvalancheClark County and 2 more · forecast zone Centennial Mountains-Island Park | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-08-26 | Debris FlowBarber, Ada County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-08-26 | Debris FlowBarber, Ada County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-08-26 | Debris FlowBarber, Ada County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-08-26 | Debris FlowStanley, Custer County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-02-24 | AvalancheIdaho County · forecast zone Southern Clearwater Mountains | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-02-07 | AvalancheBear Lake County and 2 more · forecast zone Bear River Range | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-02-04 | AvalancheBlaine County and Custer County · forecast zone Sun Valley Region | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-02-03 | AvalancheBlaine County · forecast zone Wood River Foothills | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-02-02 | AvalancheBlaine County and Custer County · forecast zone Sun Valley Region | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-01-04 | AvalancheBlaine County and Custer County · forecast zone Sun Valley Region | 0 | 1 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Federal disaster declarations for landslide and avalanche records in Idaho
FEMA has declared 7 disasters in Idaho for landslide and avalanche, counting its incident type and declarations that name landslide or mudslide in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 7 were major disasters, the latest on June 30, 2026.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-30 | DR-4917 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | 6 |
| 2024-06-10 | DR-4789 | Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | 3 |
| 2019-06-12 | DR-4443 | Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | 6 |
| 2017-08-27 | DR-4333 | Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | 5 |
| 2017-05-18 | DR-4313 | Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | 9 |
| 2011-05-20 | DR-1987 | Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | 6 |
| 1997-01-04 | DR-1154 | Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Landslides | 18 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Teton County: the county's whole recordThe Idaho county with the most landslide and avalanche records per square mile
- Landslides and avalanches across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in IdahoTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
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- Severe thunderstorm wind in Idaho2,672 records
- Hail in Idaho1,113 records