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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
High Wind Warning
Madison River Valley
High Wind Watch
Madison River Valley
Red Flag Warning
Eastern Beaverhead National Forest
Madison County, Montana severe weather history spans 84 recorded events between 1968 and 2024. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 44.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,939 nationally and #49 in Montana.
84
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$50K
Property damage
The record
What the Madison County, Montana severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Madison County, Montana severe weather history averages 1.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 28 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 1 events fall before 1990 and 83 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $25K in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Madison County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 37 | 0 | $25K | 87 | 1994–2023 |
| Hail | 29 | 0 | $0 | 1.75 | 1968–2024 |
| Flood | 9 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2020 |
| Heavy Rain | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2013–2020 |
| Tornado | 2 | 0 | $25K | F0 | 1992–1999 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2016–2016 |
Decade by decade
Madison County, Montana severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
2 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-06-29 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-06-29 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Madison County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 18, 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | VIRGINIA CITY | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
At 8:30 PM MDT Friday the stage was 6.3 feet.|Flood stage is 6.0 feet.|Minor flooding is occurring.|Impact…At 6.2 Feet on the Big Hole River…water starts to come out of its bank and affects a home/driveway near Glen. Look at staff gauge GNLM8…that should be around 6.5 feet on the Big Hole River near Glen for flooding around Glen (June 2017).|Flood History…This crest compares to a previous crest of 6.3 feet on 05/21/1969.|At 3:30 AM MDT Saturday the stage was 5.9 feet.|Flood stage is 6.0 feet.|Forecast…The river is expected to continue to slowly fall.
Beaverhead/Deerlodge National Forest Personnel estimated between 200 to 250 acres of trees were blown down from a severe thunderstorm that moved over the area. the blow down resulted in a trail leading back to Granite Lake in the Tobacco Root Mountains to become blocked. At least four people became stranded and had to be rescued by the joint effort of the Madison County Search and Rescue, Forest Service Fire Team, and US Airforce helicopter support. A storm survey conducted by National Weather Service Great Falls discovered that this event was a microburst.
Madison County Disaster and Emergency Services reported renewed flooding from an ice jam along the Madison River. Floodwater was flowing across the US-287 bridge just east-southeast of downtown Ennis. Exact duration of flooding unknown.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
9,223
Population (ACS)
$470K
Median home value
7
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 8, 2000 | Fire | MT – CENTRAL ZONE 3C FIRE COMPLEX | FM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Madison County, Montana?
84 events are on record between 1968 and 2024, causing 0 direct deaths and $50K in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Madison County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 37 recorded events — 44.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Madison County?
2 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 2 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Madison County?
7 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Madison County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Madison County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Madison County as very low risk, placing it in the 41 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Madison 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
- McCone County 479
- Meagher County 87
- Lincoln County 70
- Mineral County 41
- Liberty County 143
- Missoula County 272
Cite this page
“Madison County, Montana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/montana/madison-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.