Montana severe thunderstorm wind
Every recorded severe thunderstorm wind event since 1955 · 56 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 6,635 severe thunderstorm wind events in Montana from 1955 through June 30, 2026, about 199 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the July 16, 2008 thunderstorm wind in Big Horn County: 2 deaths. Montana ranks 30th of 52 states and territories by count and 39th of 51 per square mile.
Severe thunderstorm wind in Montana, 1955 to 2026
Thunderstorm wind records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996.
- 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: all 48 event types recorded from 1996
- Records
- 6,6351955 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 199average
- Deaths
- 1256 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $104Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 2013321 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 severe thunderstorm wind events common in Montana?
Montana averages about 199 severe thunderstorm wind events a year since 2000, 30th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2013 (321). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Montana records 456 severe thunderstorm wind events since 1955, 39th of 51 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1955, 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 Montana have the most severe thunderstorm wind events?
Per square mile, Wibaux County leads Montana: 66 days with a severe thunderstorm wind event since 1955, 74.2 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Valley County has the most thunderstorm wind records (577 since 1955); 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 1955 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is the severe thunderstorm season in Montana?
64% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1955 fell in June and July. The busiest month is July (2,572 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 3 · Feb 8 · Mar 13 · Apr 105 · May 607 · Jun 1,698 · Jul 2,572 · Aug 1,357 · Sep 242 · Oct 15 · Nov 4 · Dec 11 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1955.
What were the deadliest severe thunderstorm wind events in Montana?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-07-16 | Thunderstorm WindDecker, Big Horn County Two fatalities, both drownings, occurred from a severe thunderstorm that moved across the Tongue River Reservoir. A man fell from a dock and a woman drowned when her small boat capsized as a result of very strong thunderstorm winds. | 61 kt wind | 2 | 0 | – |
| 1985-08-25 | Thunderstorm WindYellowstone County | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2022-07-15 | Thunderstorm WindHardin, Big Horn County One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's. A north/south line of thunderstorms that stretched across multiple counties produced outflow winds well ahead of the thunderstorms. This outflow was very strong and produced winds over 60 mph. These winds produced an area of blowing dust across Interstate 90 just west of Hardin. Visibility dropped to zero resulting in ... | 56 kt wind | 1 | 14 | – |
| 2015-08-11 | Thunderstorm WindBorax, Mineral County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A cluster of thunderstorms developed at 3 pm MDT over Lemhi county and was associated with very frequent lightning strikes. This cluster of thunderstorms developed into a line and brought strong damaging winds to the Bitterroot and Missoula valleys. Numerous power lines were knocked down as a line of 60 mph winds push ... | 50 kt wind | 1 | 3 | $1.2M |
| 2010-06-16 | Thunderstorm WindFroid, Roosevelt County One storm episode: 4 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. A strong system ejecting out of the central Rockies brought heavy rainfall and severe thunderstorms to the area during the evening. This episode produced an EF1 tornado in northern McCone county and a microburst in eastern Roosevelt county that killed one person near Froid, MT. | 96 kt wind | 1 | 1 | $372K |
| 2000-07-22 | Thunderstorm WindBigfork, Flathead County 50 to 60 mph thunderstorm wind gusts at the Missoula airport blew down storage area wall next to NWS office. Report of minor roof damage in Ovando in Powell County from thunderstorm winds. Billboard blown down along HWY 93 near Evaro Hill in Missoula County. Thunderstorm wind gusts 50 to 60 mph blew down 50 foot-tall ... | 50 kt wind | 1 | 1 | – |
| 2016-07-06 | Thunderstorm WindKinsey, Custer County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A strong upper level short wave resulted in large-scale forcing across the eastern portions of the Billings Forecast Area. This resulted in severe thunderstorms across Custer and Fallon Counties during the afternoon of the 6th. Large hail, funnel clouds and a brief tornado were reported with a few of these ... | 70 kt wind | 1 | 1 | – |
| 2021-08-16 | Thunderstorm WindCrow Agency, Big Horn County A strong thunderstorm outflow passed over Crow Agency around 630pm with winds to 55 mph. A couple hours later, a shower with up to 20dbz moved over Crow Agency around 830pm, producing winds to 64 mph across a small area. A roof blew off an arbor, throwing it across the street, striking a camper in the head and throat. | 56 kt wind | 1 | 0 | – |
| 2017-05-06 | Thunderstorm WindElliston, Powell County The media reported A Montana woman was killed when a tree struck her during a weekend thunderstorm. She was reportedly running back to camp when a tree broke, striking her on the head. She died on the way to the hospital. | 52 kt wind | 1 | 0 | – |
| 1998-07-10 | Thunderstorm WindMissoula County Thunderstorm wind gusts ranging from 55 to 69 mph were reported from Frenchtown through Missoula. A large portion of the roof of the fire lab at the Smokejumper Center was blown off with damage estimate of $250,000. One man died in Frenchtown as he sought shelter under a tree and it fell on him. A house trailer was ... | 1 | 0 | $471K |
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 severe thunderstorm wind events in Montana
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994-06-06 | Thunderstorm WindValier, Pondera County Every thunderstorm wind record filed in the state that day (3, in 3 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. | 0 | 0 | $23M | |
| 2005-07-13 | Thunderstorm WindCulbertson, Roosevelt County One storm episode: 18 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. | 80 kt wind | 0 | 1 | $7.2M |
| 2009-08-14 | Thunderstorm WindJordan, Garfield County | 61 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $6.0M |
| 2001-07-20 | Thunderstorm WindCircle, McCone County One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. | 98 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $4.0M |
| 2024-07-24 | Thunderstorm WindLolo Hot Spgs, Missoula County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 70 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $3.8M |
| 2004-07-07 | Thunderstorm WindRichey, Dawson County | 78 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $3.1M |
| 2015-07-27 | Thunderstorm WindGlendive, Dawson County One storm episode: 4 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 104 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $3.1M |
| 2006-06-14 | Thunderstorm WindGlendive, Dawson County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 85 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $3.1M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are severe thunderstorm wind events becoming more frequent in Montana?
Montana'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 | Montana | United States | Montana's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955-59 | 40 | 3,482 | 1.1% |
| 1960s | 128 | 10,124 | 1.3% |
| 1970s | 162 | 18,714 | 0.9% |
| 1980s | 285 | 39,604 | 0.7% |
| 1990s | 684 | 85,554 | 0.8% |
| 2000s | 1,845 | 129,990 | 1.4% |
| 2010s | 1,848 | 161,286 | 1.1% |
| 2020-26 | 1,643 | 126,815 | 1.3% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent severe thunderstorm wind events in Montana
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-27 | Thunderstorm WindBaker Airport, Fallon County | 61 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-27 | Thunderstorm WindWillard, Fallon County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-27 | Thunderstorm WindBeaver Hill Dot, Wibaux County | 56 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-27 | Thunderstorm WindWibaux County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-27 | Thunderstorm WindHoyt, Dawson County | 57 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-27 | Thunderstorm WindEnid, Richland County | 63 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-27 | Thunderstorm WindCarlyle, Wibaux County | 68 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindLodge Grass, Big Horn County | 62 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-12 | Thunderstorm WindWindham, Judith Basin County | 55 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-07 | Thunderstorm WindBaker Airport, Fallon County | 58 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-07 | Thunderstorm WindLockwood, Yellowstone County | 57 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-07 | Thunderstorm WindComertown Dot, Sheridan County | 55 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
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 severe thunderstorm wind events in Montana
FEMA files hail and wind disasters under the incident type Severe Storm: 14 declarations in Montana, 14 of them major disasters; the latest on November 14, 2024.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-11-14 | DR-4847 | Severe Storm and Straight-Line Winds | 1 |
| 2024-07-18 | DR-4801 | Severe Winter Storm and Flooding | 12 |
| 2016-05-24 | DR-4271 | Severe Winter Storm and Straight-Line Winds | 5 |
| 2014-10-09 | DR-4198 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding | 6 |
| 2011-06-17 | DR-1996 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 55 |
| 2010-07-10 | DR-1922 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 3 |
| 2008-06-13 | DR-1767 | Severe Winter Storm | 4 |
| 2002-07-03 | DR-1424 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 6 |
| 2001-07-07 | DR-1385 | Severe Winter Storms | 3 |
| 2001-05-28 | DR-1377 | Severe Winter Storms | 2 |
| 2000-12-06 | DR-1350 | Severe Winter Storms | 7 |
| 1997-07-25 | DR-1183 | Severe Storms,Ice Jams, Snow Melt, Flooding | 23 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Wibaux County: the county's whole recordThe Montana county with the most severe thunderstorm wind events per square mile
- Severe thunderstorm wind across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in MontanaTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Winter storms in Montana8,475 records
- Hail in Montana8,391 records
- High wind and dust storms in Montana7,814 records