Montana Natural Disasters

NOAA storm events & FEMA National Risk Index

NOAA's Storm Events Database adds the near-term severe-weather lens. Between 2015 and 2025, Montana recorded 13,576 individual storm events, causing 76 fatalities and 122 injuries, with combined property and crop damage estimated at $95.0M. The most frequent event types in the state are High Wind (3,735 events), Thunderstorm Wind (2,396 events), Hail (2,015 events). Across the state's 56 analyzed counties, FEMA's own National Risk Index flags 0 as high-risk, with an average county Risk Index score (FEMA's own formula, distinct from our Historical Activity tool below) of 33.3/100.

What this count is, and is not. Storm Events is a reported database: NOAA compiles it from National Weather Service offices, trained spotters, law enforcement, and the public. It is a record of what was observed and logged, not a complete census of severe weather. Densely populated areas report more events than sparsely populated ones with similar meteorological exposure, and detection has improved over time, so an event count is not a like-for-like measure of hazard between places or across decades. Damage figures are field estimates, not audited losses. See methodology.

FEMA disaster declarations

Montana (MT) has a high level of federal declaration activity, with 112 FEMA declaration records, including 43 Major Disaster declarations (DR). A DR may authorize Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, or both; those program approvals are not implied by the DR count. The dominant declaration type is Fire, followed by Flood (19), Severe Storm (14), Biological (3). Declaration counts at the state level reflect the cumulative federal footprint: large multi-county events count once per state, but repeat hazard patterns across decades are visible in the breakdown below.

Flood exposure & where to dig deeper

Flood exposure is quantified separately through the National Flood Insurance Program. Policyholders across 46Montana counties have filed 2,162 NFIP claims totaling $18.8M, or an average of $8.7K per claim. NFIP data captures only insured flood losses, so uninsured flood damage and storm-surge losses outside mapped high-risk zones remain invisible in this figure. The highest-Expected-Annual-Loss hazard across the state is Riverine Flooding, estimated at $0.3B annually. Drill into individual counties for localized risk, read FEMA's hazard-specific briefings, and review insurance and flood-zone designations, state-level averages can mask sharp county-to-county differences in exposure and resilience.