Montana tornado and storm history
Tornadoes, hurricanes, hail, and severe storms recorded in Montana between 1952 and 2026, from NOAA's Storm Events Database. Search an address to see the storms that came closest to it.
432
Tornado reports
36,278
Storm events
166
Deaths, all storms
Every tornado track in Montana
424 county track segments since 1950, coloured by rating. Zoom in and each path widens to its surveyed width. Tap one for the storm.
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated
Tornadoes by decade in Montana
All tornado reports against only the strong ones (F2 and above). Averages are per year over the years the federal record covers completely — 1952, 1976 and 1993 are each missing whole months in NOAA’s own files and are left out.
| Decade | All reports | Strong (F2+) | All per year | Strong per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 20 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 1960s | 38 | 12 | 4 | 1 |
| 1970s | 49 | 10 | 5 | 1 |
| 1980s | 55 | 6 | 6 | 1 |
| 1990s | 116 | 5 | 13 | 1 |
| 2000s | 69 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| 2010s | 59 | 9 | 6 | 1 |
The 2020s are left out because the decade is not finished. Reports are counted per county, so one tornado crossing a county line can appear more than once.
Significant recent events in Montana
Events with deaths, several injuries, $1M+ property damage, or tornadoes rated EF3 and up.
The Ravalli County Airport recorded a low of 21 degrees, while a National Weather Service employees observation in the Ranch Club area recorded 22 degrees. On May 19, lows ranged from 30 to 33 degrees. Orchards in the Bitterroot Valley reported that approximately one-third of the…
Montana Department of Transportation reported on Highways 2 and 37. The crash on Highway 37 resulted in a fatality. An observer reported a storm total of 17 inches in Marion.
On the morning of February 15, 2026, a head-on collision involving two SUVs occurred on Highway 200 just west of Bear Creek. The accident resulted in three injuries requiring hospitalization and a two-hour closure of the highway. Precipitation totals in the vicinity of the accide…
Along Interstate 90 between Drummond and Garrison Junction, freezing rain contributed to at least 6 accidents. At 1125MST a small car lost control, slid into the eastbound lane and crashed into a tractor trailer. All three people in the car were declared dead(indirect) on the sce…
Notable infrastructure losses included the Farm-to-Market Road state bridge over Libby Creek, the Granite Creek county bridge, Ramsey Creek Bridge at milepost 8.9, Old Town/Libby Creek Bridge 8.1 miles up Libby Creek Road(NFS Road Number 231), West Fisher Road bridge over Lake Cr…
Heavy rain in the mountains caused flooding and significant erosion of forest service roads in western Mineral County. In the Superior Ranger District, the Deer Creek Bridge was compromised as the St. Regis River eroded the north bank, severely damaging the surrounding roadbed. F…
The ASOS station at Kalispell (KGPI) measured a peak gust of 58 mph, with unofficial estimates of frequent gusts near 50 mph along the east shore of Flathead Lake. The winds led to extensive power outages, with over 2,500 customers without power at the peak of the event and at le…
Icy conditions were noted on Highway 83 and 200 the mornings of the 23rd and 24th. Traffic accidents were noted including a fatality related to icy conditions near Potomac. A rock and snow slide blocked the northbound lane of Highway 200 near Bonner around 1620MST on the 22nd.
Severe driving conditions were reported by Montana Department of Transportation due to slick roads on the morning of February 16. Very slick conditions were reported again during the next two nights with fresh snow falling. An accident during the early morning hours of February 1…
Multiple social media reports indicated that roads became very slick during the evening of the 14th. One individual noted that while at the ER, three or four separate people were being treated for serious injuries from vehicle accidents that evening. Another person stated, 'Highw…
The Montana Department of Transportation reported severe driving conditions on Interstate 90 west of Gold Creek towards Clinton on the night of February 14. Multiple crashes and slide-offs were reported, particularly west of Drummond, where a crash with unknown injuries occurred …
At least two crashes involving injuries were reported by the Montana Department of Justice crash webpage: one near Clinton and another near Seeley Lake. Snowfall was light, with only 1 to 2 inches reported by observers, but breezy north to east winds between 10 and 20 mph caused …
Several crashes and slide-offs were reported along Interstate 90. Two of the crashes had unknown injuries. The COOP observer in Alberton measured 1.3 inches of snow.
Snow intensity became heavy at Lookout Pass by the afternoon but decreased by late evening. The combination of wet roads re-freezing at sunset, falling snow, and rain likely contributed to very slick conditions and a double fatality(indirect) on Evaro Hill. A semi-truck jackknife…
Glacier Park rangers reported 10 to 12 inches of snow. The Logan Pass snow measuring site recorded 11 inches in 24 hours. The Park closed the Going to the Sun Road. The storm stranded park visitors, and buses slid off the road. One person was killed in a slip and fall accident on…
Counties and zones
Each county’s full storm history, with its event count. Some entries are National Weather Service forecast zones rather than civil counties.
Absaroka / Beartooth Mountains (79)
Absarokee / Beartooth Mountains (137)
Bears Paw Mountains and Southern Blaine (52)
Beartooth Foothills (201)
Beaverhead (397)
Beaverhead and Western Madison Below 6000ft (43)
Big Belt, Bridger and Castle Mountains (47)
Big Horn (476)
Bighorn Canyon (27)
Bitterroot / Sapphire Mountains (285)
Blackfoot Region (85)
Blackfoot/butte/pintlar Region (1)
Blaine (474)
Blaine / Chouteau / Hill (48)
Blaine/hill (7)
Broadwater (198)
Broadwater / Jefferson / Meagher / Central and Southern Lewis and Clark (19)
Broadwater/jefferson/meagher Central and Southern Lewis and Clark (6)
Butte / Blackfoot Region (330)
Butte / Pintlar Region (48)
Canyon Ferry Area (17)
Carbon (193)
Carter (627)
Cascade (1,114)
Cascade / Eastern Teton (26)
Cascade County Below 5000ft (82)
Cascade/eastern Teton/judith Basin (7)
Central and Se Phillips (270)
Central and Southern Valley (386)
Chouteau (572)
Crazy Mountains (81)
Custer (686)
Daniels (528)
Dawson (853)
Deer Lodge (46)
E Ravalli/se Missoula/granite T X Ne/nw & X Ne Deer Lodge/c&se & X Sw Powell/ X N Silver Bow (1)
East Glacier Park Region (95)
Eastern Carbon (67)
Eastern Glacier (446)
Eastern Glacier / Eastern Pondera / Toole / Liberty (37)
Eastern Glacier, Western Toole, and Central Pondera (140)
Eastern Glacier/eastern Pondera/toole/liberty (10)
Eastern Pondera (154)
Eastern Pondera and Eastern Teton (57)
Eastern Roosevelt (209)
Eastern Teton (197)
Eastern Toole and Liberty (116)
Elkhorn and Boulder Mountains (42)
Fallon (501)
Fergus (822)
Fergus / Judith Basin (34)
Fergus County Below 4500ft (86)
Fergus/chouteau (6)
Flathead (209)
Flathead T Sw & Sc/ne&se Lake/ne Missoula/n Powell (3)
Flathead T Sw & Sc/ne&se Lake/x Ne Lincoln/ne Missoula/n Powell (1)
Flathead/mission Valleys (317)
Gallatin (582)
Gallatin / Madison (21)
Gallatin Valley (48)
Gallatin and Madison County Mountains and Centennial Mountains (102)
Gallatin/madison (11)
Garfield (885)
Gates of the Mountains (30)
Glacier (174)
Golden Valley (241)
Golden Valley/musselshell (20)
Granite (57)
Helena Valley (31)
Hill (604)
Hill County (53)
Jefferson (248)
Judith Basin (553)
Judith Basin County and Judith Gap (85)
Judith Gap (145)
Kootenai/cabinet Region (342)
Lake (113)
Lewis and Clark (317)
Liberty (315)
Lincoln (71)
Lincoln T X Ne/sw Flathead/n & C Sanders (1)
Lincoln T X Ne/sw Flathead/n Sanders/x Nw Lake (3)
Little Belt and Highwood Mountains (46)
Little Rocky Mountains (279)
Livingston Area (194)
Lower Clark Fork Region (384)
Lower Clark Fork/bitterroot Mountains (3)
Madison (395)
Madison River Valley (51)
Mccone (748)
Meagher (280)
Meagher County Valleys (19)
Melville Foothills (75)
Mineral (41)
Missoula (274)
Missoula / Bitterroot Valleys (294)
Missoula/bitterroot Valleys (3)
Missouri Headwaters (22)
Musselshell (474)
North Rocky Mountain Front (843)
Northeastern Yellowstone (22)
Northern Big Horn (88)
Northern Blaine County (40)
Northern Carbon (22)
Northern High Plains (114)
Northern Park County (53)
Northern Phillips (157)
Northern Rosebud (126)
Northern Stillwater (181)
Northern Sweet Grass (258)
Northern Valley (186)
Northwest Beaverhead County (34)
Paradise Valley (56)
Park (300)
Petroleum (389)
Phillips (624)
Pondera (141)
Potomac / Seeley Lake Region (191)
Powder River (703)
Powell (103)
Prairie (527)
Pryor/northern Bighorn Mountains (34)
Ravalli (181)
Red Lodge Foothills (185)
Richland (758)
Rocky Mountain Front (38)
Roosevelt (637)
Rosebud (619)
Ruby Mountains and Southern Beaverhead Mountains (31)
S Sanders/mineral/w Missoula T X Sw (4)
S Sanders/mineral/w Missoula/x Sw Lake/w Ravalli (2)
Sanders (66)
Sc Missoula/c&nc Ravalli (1)
Se Missoula/n&e Granite/c&s Powell/deer Lodge/silver Bow (3)
Sheridan (693)
Silver Bow (82)
Snowy and Judith Mountains (34)
Southeastern Carbon (17)
Southern Big Horn (159)
Southern High Plains (127)
Southern Lewis and Clark (350)
Southern Rocky Mountain Front (623)
Southern Rosebud (87)
Southern Wheatland (213)
Southwestern Yellowstone (48)
Stillwater (329)
Stillwater/carbon (57)
Sweet Grass (214)
Teton (221)
Toole (409)
Treasure (232)
Upper Blackfoot and Macdonald Pass (46)
Upper Clark Fork Valley (1)
Valley (1,269)
W Glacier/w Pondera/w Teton/n Lewis/clark (7)
West Glacier Region (423)
West Glacier/bob Marshall Region (5)
Western Carbon (42)
Western Roosevelt (305)
Western and Central Chouteau County (58)
Wheatland (172)
Wheatland/park/sweet Grass (93)
Wibaux (460)
X Sw&p S Missoula/ravalli T C&nc/w Granite (3)
Yellowstone (1,121)
Yellowstone/big Horn (6)
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See every tornado that passed within 25 miles of a place in Montana, measured to its path.
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