Central and Se Phillips County, Montana
Tornadoes, hail, floods and severe storms recorded here between 1996 and 2026, from NOAA's Storm Events Database. Search an address to see which tornadoes came closest to it.
0
Tornado reports
0
Hail reports
4
Floods since 1996
270
All events
0
Deaths
$19K
Property damage
Year by year
All storm eventsTornadoes
NOAA's storm database records tornadoes back to 1950 and hail and thunderstorm wind back to 1955, but floods only from 1996 on. Older floods are missing here. For those, the U.S. Geological Survey's stream gauge records and flood reports are the place to look.
Most significant events
The strongest tornadoes, deadliest events and biggest damage here, up to 50.
High Wind High Wind
The Malta South US-191 DOT site (MYMAL) recorded a wind gust of 62 mph.
High Wind High Wind
The Content Montana Climate Office mesonet site (TNTM8) recorded a wind gust of 72 mph.
Winter Weather Winter Weather
Phillips County Sheriff's office reported severe driving conditions with several inches of slush on Highway 191, resulting in slide-offs and road closures.
High Wind High Wind
Multiple observations in central and southeast Phillips County recorded wind gusts in excess of 57 mph, the strongest of which was 62 mph, measured at the Saco S Montana Climate Office mesonet site (SASM8).
High Wind High Wind
The Sun Prairie Montana Climate Office mesonet site (SNPM8) recorded a wind gust of 65 mph. Observations here were sporadic due to power outages.
High Wind High Wind
Multiple observations in central and southeast Phillips County recorded wind gusts in excess of 64 mph, the strongest of which was 67 mph, measured at the Saco US-2 DOT site (MTSCO).
High Wind High Wind
The Malta W MDA Montana Climate Office agrimet site (MTM69) measured a 59 mph wind gust.
High Wind High Wind
The Montana Climate Office mesonet site Wagner S (WAGM8) measured a 60 mph wind gust.
Freezing Fog Freezing Fog
Power lines in the area were weighed down and stretched causing brief power outages across the area. Near zero visibility created hazardous driving conditions at times. Less than a quarter mile visibility was not consistently reported at available stations (i.e. Malta Airport AWO…
Blizzard Blizzard
At the Malta airport AWOS site (KM75), visibility of 1/4 mile or worse in blowing snow was observed for about 4.5 hours. Severe driving conditions were also reported on area roadways.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Multiple trained spotters reported heavy snow in Central Phillips County, including 6.5 inches at Malta, and 7.5 inches at Saco.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
A co-op observer in Saco measured 8.4 inches of wet snowfall.
High Wind High Wind
The Sun Prairie Montana Climate Office mesonet site (SNPM8) measured a 58 mph wind gust.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
The Malta airport AWOS site (KM75) recorded a wind chill of -40 degrees F.
Drought Drought
D2 drought conditions continued for the first half of the month over all but the southeast half of the zone.
Winter Storm Winter Storm
Snowfall amounts near 6 inches were common across most of Central and Southeast Phillips County. A trained spotter located 8 N Fourchette reported 10 inches of snowfall.
Dense Fog Dense Fog
The Malta airport AWOS site (KM75) recorded dense fog with 1/4 mile visibility or worse for about 2.5 hours.
Dense Fog Dense Fog
The Malta airport AWOS site (KM75) recorded dense fog with 1/4 mile visibility or worse for almost 2.5 hours.
Drought Drought
D2 drought conditions began and expanded from west to east during the month of November.
Drought Drought
The D2 drought conditions over the east central edge of Phillips County diminished and ended during this period.
Drought Drought
The D2 drought category continued across all but the southern portion of this zone.
Drought Drought
D2 drought conditions expanded southwestward to include all but the southern tier of Central and Southeast Phillips County by the end of the month.
Drought Drought
The drought worsened to a D2 over a portion of east-central Phillips county.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
AWOS and DOT observations reported wind chills as cold as -50F (Malta Airport and 2ESE Saco).
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
The ASOS observations reported wind chills as cold as -47F (Malta Airport).
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
AWOS observations and DOT sensors reported wind chills as cold as -58F (2WNW Malta and 2ESE Saco).
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Wind chills dropped to -40F at 2ESE Saco.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Storm total of six to eight inches of snow fell across central Phillips county with totals closer to 4.5 inches in southern Phillips County.
Winter Weather Winter Weather
Total snowfall was estimated at 3 to 4 inches. Wind also accompanied the snow making it difficult to measure.
Blizzard Blizzard
DES manager in Poplar mentioned an extended period of 1/4 visibilities Sunday evening in town, which is in line with local ASOS showing visibilities around 1/4 mile Sunday evening.
High Wind High Wind
A peak wind gust of 75 mph was measured at the Saco S. mesonet site. Other notable wind gusts were 67 mph at the Malta Handar site (GGWML) at 8:56 PM, 66 mph at Malta West MDA mesonet site (MTM69) at 8:45 PM, 66 mph at the Malta Airport AWOS (KM75) at 8:55 PM, and 66 mph at Malta…
High Wind High Wind
The public reported, via Facebook, trees and large branches down in the town of Malta. Pictures were provided on social media. Time is estimated.
High Wind High Wind
A peak wind gust of 58 mph was recorded at 1:40 PM at the Malta Handar mesonet site (GGWML).
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Across central and southeast Phillips County, measured snowfall amounts ranged from 5.2 to 6.5 inches. The greatest amount of 6.5 inches was reported by the public at Saco.
Dense Fog Dense Fog
At the Malta Airport AWOS site (KM75), intermittent visibility of one quarter mile or less was recorded for about 4 hours on the morning of the 3rd.
Ice Storm Ice Storm
The Montana Department of Highways closed US Highway 191 from Malta to the Zortman turnoff from 12pm to 3pm due to slick driving conditions resulting from ice on the road. Later that day the Department of Highways closed US Highway 2 between Malta and Hinsdale from 2pm to 9pm due…
Cold/Wind Chill Cold/Wind Chill
For multiple sites across central and southeast Phillips County, temperatures in the teens to 30s below zero and breezy winds created intermittent periods of wind chills of 40 degrees below zero or colder from the early morning of the 12th into the morning of the 16th. The peak w…
Dense Fog Dense Fog
At the Malta Airport AWOS site (KM75), intermittent visibility of a quarter mile or less was recorded for about 5 1/4 hours from the night of the 4th to just after midnight on the 5th.
Dense Fog Dense Fog
At the Malta Airport AWOS site (KM75) intermittent visibility of one quarter mile or less was recorded for about 6 hours during the evening of the 3rd until midnight, and then again for 3 hours during the early mornings of the 4th.
Drought Drought
To start November, ongoing drought conditions, D2-Severe, continued across the northeastern half of the county. By the second week of November, this area improved to D1-Moderate drought, while the southwestern third of the county remained in D0-Abnormally Dry conditions.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
A COOP Observer measured 6.2 inches of snow at 1 NW Saco. Times are estimated.
High Wind High Wind
A peak wind gust of 63 mph was recorded at 12:50 PM and 1:50 PM at the Fort Peck Dam mesonet site (GGWFP).
Drought Drought
Drought conditions across the southern one quarter of Central and Southeast Phillips County remained in D0-Abrnormally Dry, with the northern two thirds of the county maintaining D2-Severe, with a strip D1-Moderate in between. At the end of October, the western part of Central an…
Dense Fog Dense Fog
At the Malta Airport AWOS site (KM75), intermittent visibility of a quarter mile or less was recorded during an 11 hour period from late on the 23rd through mid morning on the 24th.
Drought Drought
Ongoing drought conditions continued across the northern two thirds of central and southeast Phillips County which remained in D2-Severe conditions, while the southern one third remained in D1-Moderate drought. On the last week of September, the southern one quarter of central an…
Drought Drought
During the third week of August, the northern two thirds of central and southeast Phillips County worsened to D2-Severe drought conditions, while the southern one third remained in D1-Moderate drought. These conditions continued through the end of August.
Drought Drought
To start April, ongoing drought conditions in all but the northeast corner of the Central and Southeast Phillips County was in (D1-Moderate) drought, while the northeast corner was in (D2-Severe) conditions. On the last week of April, all of Central and Southeast Phillips County …
Dense Fog Dense Fog
At the Malta Airport AWOS site (KM75), intermittent visibility of a quarter mile or less was recorded for about 5 1/4 hours from late night on the 25th to the morning of the 26th.
Dense Fog Dense Fog
At the Malta Airport AWOS site (KM75), visibility of a quarter mile or less was recorded for about 6 3/4 hours on the morning of the 23rd.
Dense Fog Dense Fog
At the Malta Airport AWOS site (KM75), visibility of a quarter mile or less was recorded for about 8 hours from late night on the 17th to the morning of the 18th.
Events by year, as a table
| Year | Events | Tornadoes |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 9 | 0 |
| 2025 | 20 | 0 |
| 2024 | 9 | 0 |
| 2023 | 23 | 0 |
| 2022 | 20 | 0 |
| 2021 | 18 | 0 |
| 2020 | 6 | 0 |
| 2019 | 14 | 0 |
| 2018 | 9 | 0 |
| 2017 | 15 | 0 |
| 2016 | 4 | 0 |
| 2015 | 3 | 0 |
| 2014 | 3 | 0 |
| 2013 | 4 | 0 |
| 2012 | 8 | 0 |
| 2011 | 13 | 0 |
| 2010 | 14 | 0 |
| 2009 | 4 | 0 |
| 2008 | 11 | 0 |
| 2007 | 6 | 0 |
| 2006 | 11 | 0 |
| 2005 | 8 | 0 |
| 2004 | 14 | 0 |
| 2003 | 4 | 0 |
| 2002 | 5 | 0 |
| 2001 | 3 | 0 |
| 1997 | 9 | 0 |
| 1996 | 3 | 0 |
Search your address
See every tornado that passed within 25 miles of a place in Central and Se Phillips County, measured to its path.
We couldn’t get your location. Check that location access is allowed for this site, or type an address.