Deer Lodge County, Montana severe weather history spans 46 recorded events between 1959 and 2023. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 45.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #3,069 nationally and #55 in Montana.
46
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
5
Direct injuries
$729K
Property damage
The record
What the Deer Lodge County, Montana severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Deer Lodge County, Montana severe weather history averages 0.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 16 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 5 events fall before 1990 and 41 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flash flood, with $685K 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 Deer Lodge County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 21 | 0 | $0 | 1.75 | 1959–2023 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 11 | 0 | $18K | 87 | 1968–2022 |
| Heavy Rain | 4 | 0 | $15K | 0 | 2010–2015 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $1K | 0 | 1997–2009 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 1997–2011 |
| Flash Flood | 2 | 0 | $685K | 0 | 2002–2017 |
| Tornado | 1 | 0 | $0 | F0 | 1997–1997 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2002–2002 |
Decade by decade
Deer Lodge County, Montana severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
1 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997-09-15 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Deer Lodge County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 9, 2005 | Lightning | ANACONDA | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Jul 11, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | ANACONDA | 0 | 2 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
There were several reports of very heavy rainfall including one that came from the NWS COOP observer at the golf course: 0.75 of rain in 20 to 25 minutes. Multiple homes experienced flooded basements, man hole covers were lifted off and floated down roads, and Westhill Park road was flooded with a depth of up to 4 feet. The Old Works Golf Course in Anaconda reported the cost to repair flood damage to be $660,000.
On July 17, 2013, a multicellular thunderstorm developed a gustnado causing a roof to be torn off of a closed garage and thrown into a power pole. The power pole broke off leaving live wires on the ground. Another shed immediately downstream was torn apart and thrown across the yard. The path of the damage was about 200 yards long and 50 to 100 feet wide. A neighbor watching the event occur from a few feet away, reported swirling debris for at least 10 to 15 seconds.
A cluster of thunderstorms brought heavy rain just west of Anaconda. Edward from Anaconda reported 0.59 inches of rain and his friend who lives to the west recorded 1.13 inches of precipitation. The intense rain caused mud run off into a basement.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
9,597
Population (ACS)
$232K
Median home value
10
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 31, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jun 17, 2011 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
| Aug 30, 2000 | Fire | WILDFIRES | DR |
| Aug 5, 2000 | Fire | MT-SOUTHWESTERN ZONE TWO FIRE COMPLEX | FM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Deer Lodge County, Montana?
46 events are on record between 1959 and 2023, causing 0 direct deaths and $729K in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Deer Lodge County?
Hail, with 21 recorded events — 45.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Deer Lodge County?
1 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 1 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Deer Lodge County?
10 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Deer Lodge County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Deer Lodge County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Deer Lodge County as very low risk, placing it in the 18 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Deer Lodge 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
- Dawson County 544
- Fallon County 348
- Daniels County 278
- Fergus County 515
- Custer County 544
- Flathead County 203
Cite this page
“Deer Lodge County, Montana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/montana/deer-lodge-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.