Prairie County, Montana severe weather history spans 337 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 54.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,574 nationally and #19 in Montana.
337
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$714K
Property damage
The record
What the Prairie County, Montana severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Prairie County, Montana severe weather history averages 4.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 134 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 11 events fall before 1990 and 326 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 $478K 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 Prairie County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 185 | 0 | $16K | 4.5 | 1960–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 118 | 0 | $478K | 83 | 1990–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 13 | 0 | $120K | 0 | 1997–2019 |
| Flood | 8 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2023 |
| Heavy Rain | 8 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2005–2021 |
| Tornado | 3 | 0 | $100K | F2 | 1955–2011 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2013–2013 |
| Wildfire | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2003 |
Decade by decade
Prairie County, Montana severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
4 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995-07-11 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-07-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 40.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-05-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1955-07-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Damaging thunderstorm winds blew over a pivot sprinkler. The strong wind destoyed one machine shed. There were multiple reports of structural damage to occupied and unoccupied structures. A couple of cars were damaged from fallen tree limbs.
A severe thunderstorm moved into southern Prairie county and raced off to the northeast at 50 mph. As the storm first entered the county it produced wind damage 12 miles southwest of Terry at 5:12 pm. A National Weather employee reported a pole barn was significantly damaged at a family members home. The poles were pulled right out of the ground. A shed was also destroyed on the property. As the storm continued to track off to the northeast it produced wind gusts in excess of 80 mph. At 5:30 pm an 88 mph wind gust was measured in Terry. Numerous tree branches were downed in the area, and many homes had minor roof damage.
At approximately 8:27pm on May 20, a tornado struck a ranch 8 miles south of Terry on 10 Mile Road. The tornado was observed by a resident of the house on the ranch. The house itself received no damage, though it was about 150 feet away from observed damage. Significant damage occurred to 4 outbuildings on the ranch. There were no injuries and the horses on the ranch were uninjured as they were out in pasture at the time of the tornado. The damage path was about 500 feet and the width was 200 feet. Based on the damage, the wind speed was determined to be 90 mph or a low end EF-1 tornado.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
1,250
Population (ACS)
$166K
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 |
| Apr 17, 2014 | Flood | ICE JAMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jun 17, 2011 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
| Aug 30, 2000 | Fire | WILDFIRES | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Terry 137
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Prairie County, Montana?
337 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $714K in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Prairie County?
Hail, with 185 recorded events — 54.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Prairie County?
4 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 4 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Prairie County?
7 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Prairie County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Prairie County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Prairie County as very low risk, placing it in the 4 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Prairie 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
- Powell County 103
- Ravalli County 180
- Powder River County 578
- Richland County 491
- Pondera County 141
- Roosevelt County 612
Cite this page
“Prairie County, Montana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/montana/prairie-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.