Missoula County, Montana
Tornadoes, hail, floods and severe storms recorded here between 1957 and 2026, from NOAA's Storm Events Database. Search an address to see which tornadoes came closest to it.
2
Tornado reports
118
Hail reports
24
Floods since 1996
274
All events
2
Deaths
$8.3M
Property damage
Tornado paths in Missoula County
The part of each tornado’s path NOAA recorded in this county, 1 in all. Zoom in and the paths widen to their surveyed width.
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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.
A state of emergency was declared by both the Missoula County Commission Chair and Missoula Mayor because of the unprecedented wind damage that occurred. The 80 to 100 mph winds brought thousands of trees down across the county. It wasn't just a quick gust, but rather high winds …
Multiple tree branches were broken across the Pleasant View subdivision. Lawn furniture swing was thrown 10 yards from the back to front yard of a residence.
Hail Hail
Heavy Rain Heavy Rain
A public report described torrential rain of approximately 20 minutes in duration and roadway ponding near Bernice's Bakery around 1600MST; additionally, the roof of new annex started leaking.
Hail Hail
A slow-moving thunderstorm impacted the area northwest of Missoula, producing both large hail and heavy, localized rainfall. Quarter-sized (1.00 inch) hail was estimated via photos near the Frenchtown Mill. The storm's torrential downpour resulted in an official measurement of 0.…
Hail Hail
Hail estimated slightly over one inch in diameter was reported in Lolo, an event confirmed by at least two separate photos submitted by local residents.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
In East Missoula, a wedding tent was collapsed by the winds. Northwest of the Wye, gusts were estimated to be over 50 mph. The University of Montana campus also sustained damage, with several downed trees, one of which fell onto a roof.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A severe thunderstorm produced a gust of 67 mph at the ASOS at the Missoula Airport. An NWS employee estimated a gust to 90 mph in Frenchtown. A mesonet site in Turah measured a gust of 54 mph. There were reports of trees across the roads in Missoula. The power company showed a f…
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Social media reported lots of damage in Seeley Lake. Essential travel only was declared at about 5:17pm MST and lifted on Aug 24 at 5:46pm MST. Social media produced several images of trees down on houses and decks.
Hail Hail
An NWS employee measured 1 inch hail near Frenchtown.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Missoula County reported eastbound traffic closed at Reserve Street as well as westbound at Paxon St for a tree in the road. The power company reported over 1000 customers without power. The ASOS at Missoula Airport measured a gust of 72 mph.
Hail Hail
An NWS employee reported one inch hail in Missoula.
Hail Hail
An NWS employee reported one inch hail in Frenchtown at 17:04 MST.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Several large, mature trees were uprooted. One tree landed on a car in Johnsrud Park and completely crushed it. Windspeed estimated from Beaufort Scale.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Radar velocity data indicated wind speeds over 50 knots. An emergency manager reported a tree falling on a house in Target Range. A wind gust of 51 mph was recorded at the Missoula International Airport.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A weather spotter reported that a large tree, approximately 18 inches in diameter, fell down one mile east of Seeley Lake. Trees were also reported down on Morrell Creek Road and 13 miles south of Condon, on Highway-83. A couple hundred customers lost power near Condon.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Multiple car crashes were reported on Interstate-90 near Missoula as a thunderstorm with strong winds and heavy rain moved through. A wind gust of 52 mph was recorded at the Missoula International Airport, with the main core of the storm passing to the east of the airport.
Flood Flood
The Clark Fork River above Missoula reached minor flood stage of 7.5 feet by 1100MST on May 3rd. The river remained above minor flood stage through 1900MST on May 11th. The river crested at 9.5 feet around 0400MST on May 7th. This did cause sandbagging efforts in the frequently f…
Hail Hail
One inch hail was reported from a storm that had a relatively small core of 55-60 dbz returns. There were no damage reports from this event.
Hail Hail
A trained spotter reported 1 1/2 inch hail along with near continuous lighting. She also reported minor damage to trees with a few leaves shredded.
Hail Hail
A member of the public sent in a photo demonstrating 1.25 hail. Hail around 2.5 was reported by an employee of the NWS near Wye, MT.
Hail Hail
A member of the public sent in a photo of 2 hail that fell near Seeley Lake.
Hail Hail
There were two reports of 1 hail near Clinton, followed by another near US-200 2 miles from Potomac, MT.
Hail Hail
There were two reports of large hail near Salmon Lake; a Forest Service employee reported 1.5 hail south of the lake, while there was a report of 1.75 hail just east of the lake.
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
One inch hail was reported on the 'eastside' of Florence, MT.
Hail Hail
A photo on Twitter depicted 1 hail in Seeley Lake, MT.
Hail Hail
A Facebook report of half dollar size hail just west of Potomac.
Hail Hail
Quarter size hail in the Rattlesnake area to the northeast of Missoula.
Flood Flood
The Clark Fork River above Missoula briefly reached minor flood stage with limited impacts of water into low lying areas adjacent to the river.
Flood Flood
The Bitterroot River near Missoula briefly reached minor flood stage with limited impacts of water into low lying areas adjacent to the river.
Flash Flood Flash Flood
A trained spotter reported 1.3 inches of rainfall during a 45 minute period in Big Sky Lake. Excessive runoff washed out a resident's driveway along Big Sky Lake.
Hail Hail
A severe thunderstorm developed close to Clinton, MT, and began a slow movement to the northeast over the next hour and 30 minutes. During that time two different spotters reported 1 hail.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
An outflow wind from a northerly moving thunderstorm produced strong to severe winds from roughly 6-7 pm MDT, with a peak gust of 64 mph at Missoula Intl. Airport. These winds caused downed trees and powerlines, and also damaged a roof. The outflow boundary snapped a tree north o…
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Strong southerly outflow winds of 45 to 60 mph downed hundreds of live trees, primarily ponderosa and larch varieties. Most of the trees were uprooted but a few had tops blown out. The main area of damage extended from Salmon Lake to the Seeley Lake area with isolated areas of da…
Flood Flood
Flood waters impacted the north end of Tower Street and also Kehrwald Drive. The peak gage height occurred at 1245 PM June 5 and was 8.19 ft.
Flood Flood
Water from the Clark Fork River flooded the north end of Tower Street and also Kehrwald Drive. The peak gage height occurred at 2230 PM May 28 and was 7.98 ft.
Flood Flood
The Clark Fork River flooded the Orchard Homes neighborhood in Missoula. Neighborhood streets turned into streams, with 10 to 15 homes sandbagged and surrounded by flood water. Flooding continued through the second week of June.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A business reported a very tall ponderosa pine tree snapped in half in their yard and they heard of several other trees down in the area. The hail was mostly dime-sized.
Hail Hail
A thunderstorm produced nickel to quarter-sized hail in the town of Bonner during the afternoon of the 13th.
Hail Hail
Penny to half-dollar-sized hail was reported in the town Seeley Lake. Half-dollar-sized hail was reported by a boater on Seeley Lake.
Flood Flood
Flooding was observed in the Orchard Homes area of Missoula as the Clark Fork River rose above minor flood stage beginning midday on the 14th. The Clark Fork River's flow peaked at 9.15 feet late on the 18th, and finally fell below flood stage late on the 21st with residential fl…
Flood Flood
Flooding returned to the Orchard Homes area, primarily on Tower Street and Kehrwald Drive with water into homes, travel was also impacted. An important note is the previously established flood stage was much too high due to changes in channeling from the earlier flooding late Apr…
Flood Flood
Multiple residences and structures in the Orchard Homes area, including those along Tower Street and Kehrwald Drive experienced flood damage. Flooding began the end of April 2018 and continued through June 12. The event altered the river channel to the extent flooding occurred we…
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Besides the measured wind report, a spotter in Missoula reported hail sizes between dimes and quarters. Another interesting thing to note is the fact that Point 6 near 8,000 feet received a wind gust to 74 mph.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Several lodgepole pine trees were blown over and hail up to one inch were reported with this storm.
Flood Flood
The Clark Fork River flooded low lying areas near the river between Missoula and Frenchtown.
Flood Flood
The Bitterroot River near Missoula flooded again and this time reached 12 feet which caused some flooding of farmland and some roads along the river from Lolo to the confluence with the Clark Fork River. Groundwater adjacent to the Bitterroot River flooded Linda Vista Golf course…
Events by year, as a table
| Year | Events | Tornadoes |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 4 | 0 |
| 2024 | 8 | 0 |
| 2023 | 4 | 0 |
| 2022 | 13 | 0 |
| 2021 | 6 | 0 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 |
| 2019 | 4 | 0 |
| 2018 | 14 | 0 |
| 2017 | 4 | 0 |
| 2016 | 5 | 0 |
| 2015 | 5 | 0 |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 |
| 2013 | 10 | 0 |
| 2012 | 14 | 0 |
| 2011 | 7 | 0 |
| 2010 | 12 | 0 |
| 2009 | 2 | 0 |
| 2008 | 6 | 0 |
| 2007 | 5 | 0 |
| 2006 | 16 | 0 |
| 2004 | 17 | 0 |
| 2003 | 18 | 0 |
| 2002 | 16 | 0 |
| 2001 | 5 | 0 |
| 2000 | 2 | 0 |
| 1999 | 4 | 0 |
| 1998 | 15 | 0 |
| 1997 | 3 | 0 |
| 1996 | 6 | 0 |
| 1995 | 9 | 1 |
| 1994 | 1 | 0 |
| 1993 | 5 | 0 |
| 1992 | 3 | 0 |
| 1989 | 4 | 0 |
| 1988 | 3 | 0 |
| 1984 | 1 | 0 |
| 1983 | 4 | 1 |
| 1982 | 4 | 0 |
| 1981 | 1 | 0 |
| 1974 | 1 | 0 |
| 1973 | 1 | 0 |
| 1972 | 1 | 0 |
| 1969 | 1 | 0 |
| 1968 | 3 | 0 |
| 1962 | 1 | 0 |
| 1960 | 1 | 0 |
| 1958 | 1 | 0 |
| 1957 | 1 | 0 |
Search your address
See every tornado that passed within 25 miles of a place in Missoula County, measured to its path.
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