Severe Weather History


County archive · 1950 — present

Ada County, Idaho

Ada County, Idaho severe weather history spans 214 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 50.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,356 nationally and #7 in Idaho.

214

Recorded events

0

Direct deaths

77

Direct injuries

$5.7M

Property damage

The record

What the Ada County, Idaho severe weather history record shows

Across the archive, Ada County, Idaho severe weather history averages 3.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 59 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 40 events fall before 1990 and 174 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.

The costliest is flood, with $4.0M in reported property damage. In total, 10 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.

Ada County, Idaho severe weather history: recorded events per decade since 1950
Ada County, Idaho severe weather history: recorded events per decade since 1950

By hazard type

Every hazard type recorded in Ada County

HazardEventsDeathsDamageMaxSpan
Thunderstorm Wind1090$548K801958–2025
Hail410$5K1.51967–2024
Heavy Rain170$001996–2024
Tornado130$50KF11956–2023
Flood130$4.0M01998–2023
Flash Flood100$1.1M01997–2025
Funnel Cloud40$001997–2021
Debris Flow30$002025–2025
Lightning30$10K01997–1999
Wildfire10$001997–1997
Source: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events · dates UTC · preliminary data may revise

Decade by decade

Ada County, Idaho severe weather history by decade

41950s
51960s
81970s
231980s
491990s
372000s
292010s
592020s

Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.

Tornado tracks

Paths crossing this county

13 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 13 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.

DateScaleDeathsInjuriesPath lengthOrigin
1984-10-26EF1000.3 miTouched down here
1984-03-21EF1000.1 miTouched down here
1956-07-09EF1000.1 miTouched down here
2023-05-26EF0001.0 miTouched down here
2000-08-03EF0000.1 miTouched down here
2000-08-03EF0000.1 miTouched down here
2000-07-18EF0000.1 miTouched down here
2000-08-03EF0000.1 miTouched down here
2000-08-03EF0000.0 miTouched down here
1998-05-10EF0002.0 miTouched down here
Source: NOAA SPC SVRGIS tornado tracks · path geometry intersected with county boundaries

Significant events

Deadliest events on record in Ada County

DateTypeLocationDeathsInjuriesDamage
Aug 22, 2010Thunderstorm Wind(BOI)GOWEN FLD BOISE070$0
Jul 25, 2002Thunderstorm WindMERIDIAN04$0
Oct 19, 2019Thunderstorm WindKUNA02$0
Jul 9, 1995HailBlack Creek01$5K
Source: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events · dates UTC

From the record

What the reports say

Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain

Context

Risk, population and federal disasters

Relatively Moderate

FEMA NRI risk rating

518,935

Population (ACS)

$512K

Median home value

6

Federal declarations

DeclaredIncidentTitleType
Apr 9, 2020BiologicalCOVID-19 PANDEMICDR
Mar 13, 2020BiologicalCOVID-19EM
Oct 7, 2017FloodFLOODINGDR
Sep 13, 2005HurricaneHURRICANE KATRINAEM
Sep 1, 2000FireWILDFIRESDR
Dec 31, 1964FloodHEAVY RAINS & FLOODINGDR
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA disaster declarations · most recent first

Quick answers

Frequently asked

How many severe weather events have been recorded in Ada County, Idaho?

214 events are on record between 1956 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $5.7M in property damage.

What is the most common severe weather hazard in Ada County?

Thunderstorm Wind, with 109 recorded events — 50.9% of everything in the archive for this county.

How many tornadoes have crossed Ada County?

13 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 13 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.

How many federal disaster declarations cover Ada County?

6 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Ada County, each tied to a specific incident period.

How risky is Ada County compared with the rest of the country?

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Ada County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 88 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.

Where does the Ada 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

All counties in this state →

Cite this page

“Ada County, Idaho.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/idaho/ada-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.


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