Prairie County, Montana
Tornadoes, hail, floods and severe storms recorded here between 1955 and 2026, from NOAA's Storm Events Database. Search an address to see which tornadoes came closest to it.
3
Tornado reports
185
Hail reports
24
Floods since 1996
527
All events
0
Deaths
$780K
Property damage
Tornado paths in Prairie County
The part of each tornado’s path NOAA recorded in this county, 3 in all. Zoom in and the paths widen to their surveyed width.
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated
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.
Drought Drought
For the entire month, D2 drought conditions continued and persisted for the eastern half of Prairie County.
Drought Drought
D2 drought conditions encroached into the northeastern edge of Prairie County from the east in the second week of the month. For the last week of the month, D2 drought conditions expanded through the eastern half of Prairie County.
High Wind High Wind
Multiple observations in Prairie County recorded wind gusts in excess of 60 mph, the strongest of which was 77 mph, measured at the Sheep Mountain S-253 DOT site (MTSHP).
High Wind High Wind
The BLM Terry Montana Climate Office agrimet site (MTM29) measured a 62 mph wind gust.
High Wind High Wind
The Buffalo Rapids agrimet site near Terry (BRTM) measured a 66 mph wind gust.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Co-op observer at 5N Mildred reported 6 inches of snowfall.
Hail Hail
A trained spotter reported quarter size hail.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A trained spotter estimated wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph which broke off some tree limbs.
Hail Hail
Public reported hail up to the size of quarters, lasting for 15 to 20 minutes.
Hail Hail
Public reported golf ball size hail.
Hail Hail
Trained spotter reported hail up to the size of quarters and heavy rain.
Hail Hail
Public reported quarter size hail through the mPING system.
Hail Hail
Public reported ping pong ball size hail through the mPING system.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Winds estimated to be at least 60 mph based on video posted to social media and tree limb damage reported by public.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
County Emergency management shared multiple damage reports from the town of Terry, including downed branches from multiple trees, a downed main power line causing a power outage, a peeled tin roof at the local baseball field. Time is estimated. Wind speed estimated at 65 mph.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A wind gust of 58 mph was recorded at the BLM Terry mesonet site.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A wind gust of 69 mph was measured at the Big Sheep Mountain RAWS site (LCFM8).
Drought Drought
D2 drought conditions were experienced across most of the county to begin the month. By the end of the month, the entire county had improved to D1, expect for the extreme northern edge of the county.
Drought Drought
The D2 drought expanded to over most of Prairie county.
Drought Drought
D2 drought increased through the month to encompass the central and eastern portions of Prairie County.
Drought Drought
D2 drought over the eastern portion of the county continued through the end of the month.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Mesonet observations reported wind chills as cold as -43F (13NNW McCloud).
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Observations reported wind chills as cold as -55F (Sheep Mountain).
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
RAWS and mesonet observations reported wind chills as cold as -50F (Big Sheep (13 NNW McCloud) and Buffalo Rapids).
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Mesonet observations reported wind chills as cold as -43F (13NNW McCloud and 4NE Terry).
Drought Drought
D2 drought conditions across the central portions of the county to begin the month, improved to D1. D2 remained in southeast.
Drought Drought
D2 through D3 drought conditions continued across Prairie County to begin the month, before improving by the end of the month. However, D2 drought lingered over the eastern 2/3 of the county.
Three injuries occurred with this icing event in Prairie County. Interstate 94 was closed from Glendive to Miles City from 430 am to 10 am. Two of the injuries required emergency treatment. Emergency travel only, or severe driving conditions were noted on the Montana DOT 511 webs…
Blizzard Blizzard
Visibility was a quarter mile or less for 4 hours with wind gusts frequently exceeding 35 mph. The peak wind gust was 62 mph.
Drought Drought
D2 through D3 drought conditions continued across Prairie county through December.
Drought Drought
D2 drought conditions were noted across the entire county to begin the month, and worsened to D3 drought across the eastern two thirds of the county by the end of the month.
Drought Drought
On the third week of October, the far eastern border of Prairie County worsened to D2-Severe drought. On the fourth week of October the eastern two thirds of Prairie County worsened to D2-Severe drought. By the end of the month, all of Prairie County worsened to D2-Severe drought…
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Prairie County DES estimated thunderstorm wind gusts of 60 mph.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Public reported, via Facebook, an estimated 60 mph thunderstorm wind gust.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Public reported that the wind lofted the roof of barn. Pieces of the roof were scattered up to half a mile away.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
The BLM Terry mesonet site (MTM29) measured a 60 mph thunderstorm wind gust.
High Wind High Wind
A peak wind gust of 59 mph was recorded at 11:30 AM at the Sheep Mountain MT-253 DOT site.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Across Prairie County, measured snowfall amounts ranged from 5.0 to 7.0 inches. The greatest amounts of 7.0 inches was reported by a CO-OP Observer at 5 N Mildred.
Cold/Wind Chill Cold/Wind Chill
For multiple sites across Prairie 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 to midday on the 15th. The peak wind chill of 62 degrees below …
High Wind High Wind
A peak wind gust of 59 mph was recorded at 2:15 PM at the BLM Terry mesonet site (MTM29).
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
The BLM Terry Mesonet site (MTM29) measured a 58 mph thunderstorm wind gust.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
The public reported, via social media, that an open faced barn (shed) had blown down. The shed was laying over a tractor, four wheeler and bike. Wind speeds were estimated at 70 mph, and the time of the event was estimated by radar data.
Flood Flood
An emergency manager in Prairie County reported heavy rainfall caused water to flow over Interstate 94 at mile marker 181.
Cold/Wind Chill Cold/Wind Chill
For multiple sites across Prairie County, temperatures in the teens and 20s below zero and breezy winds created intermittent periods of wind chills of -40 or worse from the morning of the 21st into the morning of the 23rd. The peak wind chill of -57 was recorded at 5:08 PM on the…
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Across Prairie County, measured snowfall amounts ranged from 8.5 to 20.0 inches. The greatest amount of 20.0 inches was reported by a trained spotter at 14 NNE Ismay.
Drought Drought
To start December, ongoing drought conditions in all of the northeastern two thirds of Prairie County were in (D2-Severe) conditions while the southwestern third of Prairie County was in (D1-Moderate) drought. On the third week of December, all of Prairie County had improved to (…
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Across Prairie County, measured snowfall amounts ranged from 5.6 to 6.0 inches. The greatest amount of 6.0 inches was reported by public, via Facebook in Terry.
Drought Drought
To start November, ongoing drought conditions in all of the northeastern two thirds of Prairie County were in (D2-Severe) conditions while the southwestern third of Prairie County was in (D1-Moderate) drought. These conditions would remain the same through the end of the month.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Across Prairie County, measured snowfall amounts ranged from 3.0 to 6.0 inches. The greatest amount of 6.0 inches was measured by a trained spotter at 10 WNW McCloud.
Drought Drought
To start October, ongoing drought conditions in the northeast corner of Prairie County was in (D3-Extreme) drought, the rest of the northeastern two thirds outside the northeast corner were in (D2-Severe) conditions while the southwestern third of Prairie County was in (D1-Modera…
Events by year, as a table
| Year | Events | Tornadoes |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 5 | 0 |
| 2025 | 22 | 0 |
| 2024 | 12 | 0 |
| 2023 | 4 | 0 |
| 2022 | 30 | 0 |
| 2021 | 28 | 0 |
| 2020 | 3 | 0 |
| 2019 | 18 | 0 |
| 2018 | 21 | 0 |
| 2017 | 8 | 0 |
| 2016 | 6 | 0 |
| 2015 | 9 | 0 |
| 2014 | 10 | 0 |
| 2013 | 27 | 0 |
| 2012 | 7 | 0 |
| 2011 | 26 | 1 |
| 2010 | 15 | 0 |
| 2009 | 18 | 0 |
| 2008 | 22 | 0 |
| 2007 | 30 | 0 |
| 2006 | 21 | 0 |
| 2005 | 27 | 0 |
| 2004 | 5 | 0 |
| 2003 | 12 | 0 |
| 2002 | 22 | 0 |
| 2001 | 19 | 0 |
| 2000 | 26 | 0 |
| 1999 | 16 | 0 |
| 1998 | 10 | 0 |
| 1997 | 12 | 0 |
| 1996 | 8 | 0 |
| 1995 | 6 | 0 |
| 1993 | 2 | 0 |
| 1992 | 2 | 0 |
| 1991 | 5 | 0 |
| 1990 | 2 | 0 |
| 1986 | 1 | 0 |
| 1981 | 1 | 0 |
| 1976 | 1 | 0 |
| 1975 | 2 | 0 |
| 1969 | 1 | 0 |
| 1967 | 1 | 0 |
| 1962 | 2 | 1 |
| 1960 | 1 | 0 |
| 1955 | 1 | 1 |
Search your address
See every tornado that passed within 25 miles of a place in Prairie County, measured to its path.
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