Roosevelt County, Montana severe weather history spans 612 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 46.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #556 nationally and #5 in Montana.
612
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$13.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Roosevelt County, Montana severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Roosevelt County, Montana severe weather history averages 8.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 188 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 24 events fall before 1990 and 588 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Roosevelt County, Montana record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $6.4M 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 Roosevelt County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 284 | 1 | $6.4M | 104 | 1957–2026 |
| Hail | 247 | 0 | $139K | 3.5 | 1959–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 25 | 0 | $1.3M | 0 | 1997–2021 |
| Flood | 22 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2023 |
| Tornado | 16 | 0 | $910K | F2 | 1953–2013 |
| Heavy Rain | 9 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2021 |
| Funnel Cloud | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2024 |
| Wildfire | 2 | 0 | $5.0M | 0 | 1999–2003 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2008 |
Decade by decade
Roosevelt County, Montana severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
16 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-07-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 23.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-09-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-07-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-07-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-07-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-07-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-06-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-06-25 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-08-23 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-07-21 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Roosevelt County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 17, 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | FROID | 1 | 1 | $250K |
| Jun 13, 2008 | Lightning | POPLAR | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Severe thunderstorms across the region had widespread reports of winds in the 60 to 75 mph range, but a microburst 3 miles west of the town of Froid produced winds estimated based off of the damage survey at 110 to 125 mph. The winds hit just after 9 pm MDT. A modular home that was strapped to the ground had the straps snapped, and it was lifted from its foundation, thrown 30 feet to the north-northeast and flipped over. Two people were in the home at the time and a female ended up approximately 250-280 feet north-northeast of the main debris area. The female victim died shortly afterwards and the male victim was hospitalized with injuries including a broken arm and collarbone. The home was a total loss. A garage next to the home had damage to the garage doors, the siding on the west side of the home, and some of the roofing shingles torn off.
Rain falling at the rate of more than 5 inches in an hour inundated the town of Culbertson. Forty-three homes sustained damage with 20 basements completely filled with water and sewage which backed up during the storm. Two homes were moved completely off of their foundations. Highway 2 was flooded and closed from Poplar to the North Dakota line until the next morning. At 11 PM local time, Highway 2 was under three feet of water which caused cars to float off of the road.
Roosevelt County law enforcement and numerous public reported significant damage in the town of Poplar. Numerous trees were uprooted and many homes damaged, including some roofs blown off or damaged. A FEMA Damage Assessment Team came after this event and determined the extent of damages to private and tribal HUD homes.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
10,526
Population (ACS)
$119K
Median home value
8
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 12, 2023 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 13, 2021 | Other | STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| 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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Wolf Pt 126
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Roosevelt County, Montana?
612 events are on record between 1953 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $13.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Roosevelt County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 284 recorded events — 46.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Roosevelt County?
16 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 16 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Roosevelt County?
8 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Roosevelt County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Roosevelt County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Roosevelt County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 54 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Roosevelt 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
- Richland County 491
- Rosebud County 600
- Ravalli County 180
- Sanders County 64
- Prairie County 337
- Sheridan County 357
Cite this page
“Roosevelt County, Montana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/montana/roosevelt-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.