Jefferson County, Idaho severe weather history spans 234 recorded events between 1964 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 72.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,219 nationally and #5 in Idaho.
234
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$3.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Jefferson County, Idaho severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Jefferson County, Idaho severe weather history averages 3.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 104 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 21 events fall before 1990 and 213 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flood, with $3.2M 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 Jefferson County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 170 | 0 | $511K | 80 | 1964–2026 |
| Hail | 29 | 0 | $10K | 1.75 | 1970–2024 |
| Tornado | 18 | 0 | $160K | F1 | 1980–2025 |
| Flood | 10 | 0 | $3.2M | 0 | 2011–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2016–2024 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $1K | 0 | 2020–2020 |
| Flash Flood | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2014–2014 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2014–2014 |
| Wildfire | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2000 |
Decade by decade
Jefferson County, Idaho severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
21 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002-06-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-05-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-06-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-06-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-04-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-04-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-03-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 15.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-04-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-07-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-07-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Jefferson County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 21, 1992 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A significant warmup in February caused massive sheet flooding from snowfall accumulation from December and January. Extensive damage occurred to homes and especially road damage. The state declared Jefferson County a disaster area due to the magnitude of the damage. Road flooding occurred near Roberts on the 11th and 12th, but extreme flooding commenced after the 19th mainly west of Interstate 15. 600 North was closed from 2450 East to 2300 East. 400 North was closed from 2400 East to 1800 East. 2300 East was closed from County Line to 400 North. 2100 East was closed from County Line to 400 North. 2600 East was closed from 200 North to 400 North and 1800 East was closed from 400 North to 1200 North. Water on some roads reached levels that caused automobiles to float. Road crews described some roads similar to waterfalls.
Extensive road and property damage continued into March. Many roads in the Roberts area suffered severe damage due to the flooding. Multiple personal water wells had e-coli due to the problems from the flooding in the first week of March. This occurred near E 200 N and N 3300 E southwest of Lewisville.
The beginning of snowmelt season brought some initial sheet flooding to Jefferson County with road and bridge damage and surrounding some homes Minimal damage occurred to the homes with about 126 thousand dollars of road and bridge damage.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
33,154
Population (ACS)
$408K
Median home value
6
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 9, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Apr 21, 2017 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA | EM |
| Jun 13, 1997 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, SNOWMELT, LAND/MUD SLIDES, FLOODING | DR |
| Jun 6, 1976 | Flood | DAM COLLAPSE, FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Jefferson County, Idaho?
234 events are on record between 1964 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $3.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Jefferson County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 170 recorded events — 72.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Jefferson County?
21 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 21 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Jefferson County?
6 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Jefferson County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Jefferson County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Jefferson County as very low risk, placing it in the 40 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Jefferson County, Idaho 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
- Idaho County 155
- Jerome County 51
- Gooding County 46
- Kootenai County 134
- Gem County 45
- Latah County 99
Cite this page
“Jefferson County, Idaho.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/idaho/jefferson-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.