Live
Active alerts for this county
Severe Thunderstorm Warning
Beaverhead, MT; Jefferson, MT; Madison, MT
Red Flag Warning
Eastern Beaverhead National Forest
Beaverhead County, Montana severe weather history spans 196 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 49.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,465 nationally and #34 in Montana.
196
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
23
Direct injuries
$3.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Beaverhead County, Montana severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Beaverhead County, Montana severe weather history averages 2.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 58 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 28 events fall before 1990 and 168 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $2.6M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Beaverhead County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 96 | 0 | $500K | 90 | 1957–2025 |
| Hail | 53 | 0 | $10K | 2.75 | 1958–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 17 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2014–2020 |
| Tornado | 13 | 0 | $2.6M | F2 | 1959–2023 |
| Wildfire | 6 | 0 | $30K | 0 | 2000–2000 |
| Flash Flood | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2005–2013 |
| Flood | 4 | 0 | $200K | 0 | 2011–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2019 |
Decade by decade
Beaverhead County, Montana severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
14 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 14 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962-05-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-06-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-07-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-06-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-05-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-08-06 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-08-20 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-07-10 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-07-19 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-09-05 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Beaverhead County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2000 | Wildfire | WISDOM | 0 | 6 | $10K |
| Aug 1, 2000 | Wildfire | WISDOM | 0 | 6 | $10K |
| Aug 1, 2000 | Wildfire | WISDOM | 0 | 6 | $10K |
| Jul 17, 2013 | Flash Flood | (DLN)DILLON ARPT | 0 | 5 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Reported ice jam along the Beaverhead River northeast of Dillon, resulting in flooding along Laknar Lane, Pond Drive, and Park Street in North Dillon. Mitigation using hay bales prevented the flooding waters to move into another flood basin; however, some homes were still flooded in this area.
Retired geologist observed a tornado on his property about 1-mile ESE of Wisdom. 50-lb. deck table was blown about 10 feet, a small greenhouse was leveled, and portions of fences were damaged. His personal weather station recorded a 78-mph peak gust at 16:38 MST. In addition, he estimated the tornado moved eastward at about 25 mph for about 3/4 mile. Thus, it is estimated that the tornado occurred between 16:38 and 16:40 MST.
Ice jamming was occurring along the Beaverhead River in Twin Bridges affecting private residential areas on Bridge street as well as Jessen Park. During the event, Jessen Park was closed due to flooding and several private residences and the high school were affected.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
9,713
Population (ACS)
$308K
Median home value
5
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 31, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
| Aug 30, 2000 | Fire | WILDFIRES | DR |
| Aug 8, 2000 | Fire | MT – CENTRAL ZONE 3C FIRE COMPLEX | FM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Beaverhead County, Montana?
196 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $3.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Beaverhead County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 96 recorded events — 49.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Beaverhead County?
14 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 14 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Beaverhead County?
5 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Beaverhead County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Beaverhead County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Beaverhead County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 43 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Beaverhead County, Montana severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Big Horn County 439
- Blaine County 252
- Broadwater County 80
- Carbon County 191
- Carter County 457
- Cascade County 620
Cite this page
“Beaverhead County, Montana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/montana/beaverhead-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.