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Red Flag Warning
North Bighorn Basin/Worland BLM; Cody Foothills; Lincoln and Uinta Counties/Lower Elevations; Upper Green River Basin/Rock Springs BLM; Sweetwater County/Rock Springs BLM/Flaming Gorge NRA; Natrona County/Casper BLM; Johnson County/Casper BLM; South Bighorn Basin/Worland BLM; Upper Wind River Basin/Wind River Basin; South Bighorn Mountains; Absaroka Mountains/North Shoshone NF; Owl Creek Mountains; East Wind River Mountains/South Shoshone NF; Granite/Green/Ferris/Rattlesnake Mountains; Casper Mountain
Fire Weather Watch
Gallatin National Forest; Wheatland County/Sweet Grass County; Stillwater County; Beartooth Ranger District Custer National Forest; Golden Valley County/Musselshell County; Yellowstone County
Carbon County, Montana severe weather history spans 191 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 61.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,492 nationally and #35 in Montana.
191
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$2.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Carbon County, Montana severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Carbon County, Montana severe weather history averages 2.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 66 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 15 events fall before 1990 and 176 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Carbon County, Montana record is flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $1.6M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Carbon County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 117 | 0 | $0 | 4 | 1957–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 36 | 0 | $53K | 80 | 1973–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 12 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2023 |
| Heavy Rain | 12 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2007 |
| Flood | 8 | 1 | $1.6M | 0 | 1997–2022 |
| Tornado | 3 | 0 | $12K | F1 | 1988–2010 |
| Lightning | 1 | 1 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2011 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2023–2023 |
| Wildfire | 1 | 0 | $525K | 0 | 1998–1998 |
Decade by decade
Carbon County, Montana severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
3 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-06-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-05-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-03-23 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Carbon County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 11, 2011 | Lightning | WADE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 20, 2011 | Flood | WASHOE | 1 | 0 | $1.0M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Carbon County officials reported that a rancher was struck and killed by lightning in the Pryor Mountains. The Sheriff's department said a 54-year-old man was rounding up cattle for branding at a ranch about 12 miles east of Bridger when he and his horse were struck about 1:30 pm on June 11th. The man and his horse died at the scene.
Flooding from June continued into July along Rock Creek near Two Mile Road. Emergency repairs were needed on the Two Mile Bridge(which was closed) north of Red Lodge. Rock Creek was also reported to have cut a new channel and was as high as it has ever been. As a result, residents in 4 to 5 homes were stranded in the Fox area about 6 miles north of Red Lodge. In addition, another 3 homes were under water in the Wagon Wheel Estates which is about 3 miles north of Red Lodge. Western Ranch Estates near Roberts was flooded. In addition, Grapevine and Cottonwood Roads near Silesia were closed. Rock Creek at Red Lodge rose above flood stage on the 5th and continued to run above flood stage through the 7th. The creek crested at 7.54 feet on the 5th and again at 7.69 feet on the 6th.
The Bowler Flats tornado was on the ground for approximately one mile and lasted for five minutes. The tornado destroyed four transmission structures, damaged a transmission pole, shredded two wooden power poles and damaged some fencing.|Otherwise, it remained over open areas. The EF-2 damage was based on power and transmission poles being shredded with winds estimated from 111-135 mph.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
11,116
Population (ACS)
$421K
Median home value
13
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 7, 2026 | Straight-Line Winds | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Oct 11, 2023 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| Jun 16, 2022 | Flood | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jun 16, 2021 | Fire | ROBERTSON DRAW FIRE | FM |
| Mar 31, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Carbon County, Montana?
191 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths and $2.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Carbon County?
Hail, with 117 recorded events — 61.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Carbon County?
3 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 3 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Carbon County?
13 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Carbon County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Carbon County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Carbon County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 60 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Carbon 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
- Broadwater County 80
- Carter County 457
- Blaine County 252
- Cascade County 620
- Big Horn County 439
- Chouteau County 331
Cite this page
“Carbon County, Montana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/montana/carbon-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.