PlainHazard

Idaho tornadoes

Every recorded tornado since 1950 · 40 counties with a record

Idaho has recorded 226 tornadoes from 1950 through 2025, about 3.5 a year since 2000, with 0 rated F3/EF3 or stronger (NOAA Storm Prediction Center). The costliest was the February 14, 2000 tornado ($3.8 million in 2025 dollars). Idaho ranks 35th of 52 states and territories by count and 45th of 51 per square mile.

Tornadoes in Idaho, 1950 to 2025

Tornadoes per year (SPC; a tornado that crossed a state line counts in each state it touched).

  • 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
  • 1996: tornado reports rose with NEXRAD Doppler radar, mid-1990s (SPC)
Tornadoes
2261950 to 2025
A year since 2000
3.5average
Deaths
011 injuries
F3/EF3 or stronger
00% of tornadoes
Busiest year
200013 tornadoes

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025 (state segments). SPC severe weather database.

Are tornadoes common in Idaho?

Idaho averages about 3.5 tornadoes a year since 2000, 35th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2000 (13). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Idaho records 27 tornadoes since 1950, 45th of 51 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Florida 701
  2. 2. Oklahoma 658
  3. 3. Mississippi 614
  4. 4. Louisiana 579
  5. 5. Illinois 567
  6. 6. Kansas 564
  7. 7. Iowa 555
  8. 8. Alabama 537
  9. 9. Indiana 492
  10. 10. Maryland 438
  11. 45. Idaho 27

Source: NOAA SPC, tornadoes 1950-2025, 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 tornadoes?

Per square mile, Jefferson County leads Idaho: 17 days with a tornado record since 1950, 15.5 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Bingham County has the most tornado records (20 since 1950); 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).

  1. Jefferson County 15.5 (18)
  2. Madison County 12.8 (6)
  3. Canyon County 10.2 (6)
  4. Jerome County 10.0 (6)
  5. Power County 10.0 (17)
  6. Ada County 9.5 (13)
  7. Bingham County 8.1 (20)
  8. Gem County 7.1 (4)
  9. Gooding County 6.9 (6)
  10. Minidoka County 6.6 (5)
  11. Twin Falls County 5.7 (12)
  12. Bannock County 5.4 (6)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1950 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is tornado season in Idaho?

45% of its tornadoes since 1950 fell in May and June. The busiest month is June (54 tornadoes).

The values, month by month

Jan 0 · Feb 6 · Mar 11 · Apr 27 · May 47 · Jun 54 · Jul 28 · Aug 26 · Sep 16 · Oct 9 · Nov 1 · Dec 1 (records).

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, state segments by the month they began, 1950-2025.

Where have the strongest tornadoes tracked in Idaho?

  • F2/EF2
  • F3/EF3
  • F4/EF4
  • F5/EF5
  • no end point filed
10 tornadoes rated 2 or higher drawn from start to end of the whole track (a track that crossed into Idaho from another state is drawn in full); 215 rated 0 or 1 are left off the map.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, start and end points of each track; county lines: Census Bureau cartographic boundaries (2017), via us-atlas. SPC severe weather database. Census cartographic boundary files.

The strongest tornadoes in Idaho

Idaho: the highest-rated tornadoes, 1950-2025
DateCountiesRatingPath in stateWidthKilled
2006-06-04AdamsF212 mi1,760 yd0
1962-05-08Lapwai · Nez PerceF29.1 mi10 yd0
1997-05-31Athol · KootenaiF25 mi50 yd0
1990-08-17American Falls · PowerF24 mi100 yd0
1978-04-07Idaho Falls · BonnevilleF21.5 mi73 yd0
1959-09-26MadisonF21 mi10 yd0
1991-04-09Priest River · BonnerF21 mi100 yd0
1968-09-11MinidokaF20.5 mi440 yd0
1990-06-09Jerome · JeromeF20.2 mi10 yd0
1991-05-18Rupert · MinidokaF20.2 mi50 yd0

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database; F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after.

The longest tornado paths in Idaho

Idaho: the longest paths inside the state, 1950-2025
DateTornado and countiesRatingPath in stateWidthKilled
1988-03-23JeffersonF115 mi40 yd0
2000-02-14BinghamF114 mi300 yd0
2000-02-14Bingham, BonnevilleF112 mi200 yd0
2006-06-04AdamsF212 mi1,760 yd0
2018-05-31BinghamEF112 mi25 yd0
1993-06-11BannockF110 mi20 yd0
1962-05-08Lapwai · Nez PerceF29.1 mi10 yd0
2000-02-14PowerF09 mi100 yd0
2000-02-14BinghamF19 mi200 yd0
1984-05-15Madison, FremontF18 mi10 yd0

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, state segments: path length and width inside the state. SPC severe weather database.

Tornadoes in every Idaho county

All 40 counties: tornadoes whose track touched each, and the strongest
Idaho: tornadoes whose track touched each county since 1950, most first
CountyTornadoesStrongest
Bingham County20F/EF1
Jefferson County20F/EF1
Power County17F/EF2
Ada County13F/EF1
Twin Falls County12F/EF1
Cassia County10F/EF0
Butte County8F/EF1
Clark County8F/EF1
Bannock County7F/EF1
Blaine County7F/EF0
Bonneville County6F/EF2
Canyon County6F/EF1
Gooding County6F/EF1
Jerome County6F/EF2
Madison County6F/EF2
Minidoka County6F/EF2
Elmore County5F/EF1
Fremont County5F/EF1
Owyhee County5F/EF0
Bonner County4F/EF2
Camas County4F/EF1
Caribou County4F/EF0
Gem County4F/EF1
Latah County4F/EF1
Lincoln County4F/EF1
Adams County3F/EF2
Franklin County3F/EF1
Lemhi County3F/EF1
Nez Perce County3F/EF2
Oneida County3F/EF1
Washington County3F/EF1
Bear Lake County2F/EF0
Custer County2F/EF0
Idaho County2F/EF0
Kootenai County2F/EF2
Payette County2F/EF1
Clearwater County1F/EF0
Lewis County1F/EF0
Shoshone County1F/EF0
Teton County1F/EF0

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database: whole tornadoes whose track touched the county (any state segment listing it). SPC severe weather database.

The costliest tornadoes in Idaho

Idaho: the most damaging tornadoes since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2000-02-14 TornadoPingree, Bingham County In the Riverside vicinity, one mobile home and two attached garages were destroyed. Near Pingree a set of grain silos were caved in. A cinder block building collapsed and a barn was destroyed near Groveland. In East Moreland 8 RVs were flipped and several damaged. Near Moreland, 3 high tension steel towers were ... F1 14 mi x 300 yd 0 0 $3.8M
1995-04-25 TornadoBlackfoot, Bingham County A series of tornados touch down in Bingham County causing damage to mobile homes, highway signs, and recreational equipment. F0 0.25 mi x 50 yd 0 1 $968K
2000-02-14 TornadoAmerican Falls, Power County A large metal farm building was damaged 6W of Pocatello airport: siding pushed in and roof partially removed. Nearby, a cinder block and a steel framed potato storage buildings collapsed. A large grain silo sustained severe damage. A recreation fee building destroyed and several large trees downed at Willow Bay county ... F0 9 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $643K
2000-02-14 TornadoShelley, Bingham County This tornado's track started in Bingham county where it destroyed a garage in Shelley. The Shelley High School sustained roof damage. Along the tornado's path, about 10 homes sustained roof damage, 6 center pivot and 12 wheel line irrigation systems sustained damage or were destroyed. The tornado then moved into ... F1 6 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $600K
2000-02-14 TornadoFirth, Bingham County Near Taylorsville a mobile home and garage were destroyed, 3 houses sustained minor roof damage and a cinder block building collapsed. Along the tornado's track, 4 center pivot and 5 wheel irrigation lines were damaged. F1 9 mi x 200 yd 0 1 $471K
2006-03-25 TornadoBlackfoot, Bingham County F0 tornado touched down in the southeastern part of Blackfoot near Robertson Street and moved up University and Schilling Streets before lifting near the State Fairgrounds. Four trees downed at St Paul's Episcopal Church on Schilling Street. Windows at private residence on Schilling Street shattered and house severely ... F0 2 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $307K
2000-02-14 TornadoCotton, Bonneville County This tornado's track started in Bingham county where it destroyed a garage in Shelley. The Shelley High School sustained roof damage. Along the tornado's path, about 10 homes sustained roof damage, 6 center pivot and 12 wheel line irrigation systems sustained damage or were destroyed. The tornado then moved into ... F1 6 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $257K
2000-02-14 TornadoChubbuck, Bannock County A few homes were damaged along with several trees and a main line electrical pole downed in Chubbuck. Several wheel irrigation systems were twisted and damaged. F0 5 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $189K

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, in 2025 dollars.

Are tornadoes becoming more frequent in Idaho?

Idaho's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. The Storm Prediction Center notes that tornado reports rose especially around the installation of the NEXRAD Doppler radar network in the mid-1990s, so a rising count is partly better detection; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Tornadoes: Idaho and the United States by decade
DecadeIdahoUnited StatesIdaho's share
1950s134,8370.27%
1960s166,8630.23%
1970s78,6330.08%
1980s418,2500.50%
1990s6412,2050.52%
2000s4912,8920.38%
2010s2812,2320.23%
2020-2588,2340.10%

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, state segments.

The most recent tornadoes in Idaho

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2025-10-27 TornadoRigby, Jefferson County EF0 0.14 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $10K
2025-04-01 TornadoHeman, Fremont County EFU 0.1 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
2024-07-25 TornadoGlenns Ferry, Elmore County EF0 0.55 mi x 30 yd 0 0 –
2023-06-23 TornadoGrace, Caribou County EF0 0.2 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
2023-05-27 TornadoGrandview, Owyhee County EF0 5.04 mi x 3 yd 0 0 –
2023-05-26 TornadoAlmo, Cassia County EF0 0.2 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
2023-05-26 TornadoStar, Ada County EF0 0.95 mi x 3 yd 0 0 –
2022-05-27 TornadoGivens Hot Spgs, Owyhee County EF0 3.77 mi x 35 yd 0 0 –
2019-08-02 TornadoBurley Municipal Arp, Cassia County EF0 1 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
2019-06-02 TornadoWapello, Bingham County EF0 1 mi x 45 yd 0 0 –
2019-05-27 TornadoHammett, Elmore County EF0 0.52 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
2019-05-26 TornadoRiverside, Bingham County EF0 1.8 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $1K

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.

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