Kootenai County, Idaho severe weather history spans 134 recorded events between 1968 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 30.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,765 nationally and #13 in Idaho.
134
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
5
Direct injuries
$3.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Kootenai County, Idaho severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Kootenai County, Idaho severe weather history averages 2.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 52 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 13 events fall before 1990 and 121 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 $1.1M in reported property damage. In total, 10 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Kootenai County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 41 | 0 | $1.1M | 65 | 1968–2024 |
| Flood | 31 | 0 | $913K | 0 | 1999–2025 |
| Hail | 23 | 0 | $272K | 2.75 | 1969–2023 |
| Lightning | 8 | 0 | $313K | 0 | 2006–2017 |
| Funnel Cloud | 8 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2018–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 8 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2015 |
| Flash Flood | 5 | 0 | $26K | 0 | 1998–2023 |
| Debris Flow | 5 | 0 | $915K | 0 | 2015–2018 |
| Wildfire | 3 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 1998–1998 |
| Tornado | 2 | 0 | $100K | F2 | 1994–1997 |
Decade by decade
Kootenai County, Idaho 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997-05-31 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1994-09-09 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Kootenai County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 3, 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | (COE)COEUR D'ALENE A | 0 | 2 | $5K |
| May 20, 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | RATHDRUM | 0 | 2 | $15K |
| Jul 23, 2014 | Hail | CONKLING PARK | 0 | 1 | $200K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Snow melt and periodic heavy rain during the month of March caused numerous debris flows and areal flooding issues through out the county. A debris flow near Harrison forced the evacuation of a residential neighborhood with the land continuing to move through the beginning of April. Over 20 roads through out the county were washed out or cut by debris flows and numerous homes experienced basement and first floor flooding. Kootenai County was included in a Presidential Disaster Declaration as a result of the damage inflicted by this episode.
The Lake Coeur D'Alene Lake Height Gage at Coeur D'Alene recorded a rise above the lake Flood Stage of 2133.0 feet at 3:30 PM PST on March 18th. The lake crested at 2134.9 feet at 8:00 PM on March 21st. The lake then slowly fell through the next week, passing back below the Flood Stage at 1:00 PM on March 21st.
A microburst was thought to be responsible for snapping twenty consecutive power poles between the Setters substation and Highway 95 along Setters Road. It is inconclusive whether the initial wind gust snapped only a few poles or was the direct cause for damaging all the poles. It is speculated that a few poles broke in response to the microburst resulting in a domino effect to the remaining poles due to the absence of additional damage in the area.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
181,996
Population (ACS)
$519K
Median home value
18
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 30, 2026 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Apr 7, 2026 | Straight-Line Winds | STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Mar 4, 2021 | Severe Storm | STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Apr 9, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| May 18, 2017 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Kootenai County, Idaho?
134 events are on record between 1968 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $3.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Kootenai County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 41 recorded events — 30.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Kootenai 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 Kootenai County?
18 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Kootenai County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Kootenai County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Kootenai County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 79 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Kootenai 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
- Jerome County 51
- Latah County 99
- Jefferson County 234
- Lemhi County 135
- Idaho County 155
- Lewis County 51
Cite this page
“Kootenai County, Idaho.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/idaho/kootenai-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.