56
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
6
Direct injuries
$555K
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Elmore County, Idaho: 56 recorded events between 1964 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 72. That places the county #2,668 nationally and #16 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Elmore County, Idaho: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Elmore County is the 2020s, when 20 of the county's 56 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Elmore County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 43.1% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #2,668 for this hazard and #16 within Idaho, putting it in the 15.4 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Elmore County with 20 recorded events, while Feb is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 2021 | (MUO)MOUNTAIN HOME A | 50 | 3 | 5 | $0 |
| Mar 18, 1995 | 72 | 0 | 1 | $500K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 17, 2025 | (MUO)MOUNTAIN HOME A | 52 | $0 |
| Jul 31, 2025 | KING HILL | 50 | $0 |
| Jul 10, 2025 | (MUO)MOUNTAIN HOME A | 50 | $0 |
| Jul 9, 2025 | CLEFT | 59 | $0 |
| Sep 17, 2024 | KING HILL | 58 | $0 |
| Aug 5, 2024 | KING HILL | 51 | $0 |
| Aug 5, 2024 | MOUNTAIN HOME | 52 | $0 |
| Jul 25, 2024 | KING HILL | 52 | $0 |
| May 13, 2024 | GLENNS FERRY MUNI AR | 58 | $0 |
| Jan 9, 2024 | GLENNS FERRY | 52 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The AWOS at Mountain Home AFB measured a 58 MPH wind gust with several reports of damage received by the public. A dust storm from the gust front of a nearby thunderstorm reduced visibility to near zero, resulting in a 7 car accident with 3 fatalities. Idaho State Police officials reported the accident was on Highway 51, southeast of Mountain Home. ISP officials have determined the dust storm reduced visibility significantly and was the cause of the accident.
Strong winds, produced by thunderstorms, were observed across south central Idaho. A gust to 69 mph was recorded at the Hailey Airport. These winds blew over numerous trees and downed several power lines along the Wood River Valley near Hailey. Strong thunderstorm winds also caused damage in Elmore County near Mountain Home. Wind gusts up to 50 mph were recorded at Mountain Home Air Force Base, but the nature of the damage indicated that gusts reached severe criteria in the area. Nine powerline poles, as well as several large trees, were blown over.
At 6:30pm MDT, Idaho Power mesonet station 032ID recorded a wind gust of 68 mph. Later, at 6:36pm MDT, a RAWs (LLCI1) recorded a gust of 59 mph. These gusts were associated with a outflow boundary from a thunderstorm southwest of both locations. No damages were reported.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Elmore County, Idaho?
56 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Elmore County between 1964 and 2025, causing 3 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Elmore County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Elmore County measured 72.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Elmore County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Thunderstorm Wind in Elmore County, Idaho.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/idaho/elmore-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.