Franklin County, Idaho severe weather history spans 49 recorded events between 1958 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 36.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #3,057 nationally and #40 in Idaho.
49
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$1.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Franklin County, Idaho severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Franklin County, Idaho severe weather history averages 0.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 18 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 11 events fall before 1990 and 38 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flood, with $1.8M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Franklin County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 18 | 0 | $36K | 81 | 1975–2025 |
| Hail | 17 | 0 | $3K | 1.75 | 1958–2018 |
| Tornado | 4 | 0 | $35K | F1 | 1982–1995 |
| Flash Flood | 4 | 0 | $25K | 0 | 2009–2023 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $1.8M | 0 | 2017–2017 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2003 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2015–2015 |
| Debris Flow | 1 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 2023–2023 |
Decade by decade
Franklin County, Idaho severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
3 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986-05-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-06-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-05-05 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Franklin County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 22, 2003 | Lightning | WHITNEY | 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 major warmup beginning early in the month created extensive snow melt from record winter snows and massive sheet flooding. Many homes received extensive damage but the main problem in the county was extensive road damage. Many roads and bridges washed out and had to be closed. Many culverts also washed out and 28 were determined to be in need of major repair. Flooding to wells and septic systems in personal homes caused contamination of water in many cases. The state of Idaho declared Franklin County a disaster area.
At approximately 6:30 pm MDT on the 11th a mud slide necessitated the closure of SH-36 between Ovid and Preston. Continued warming temperatures resulted in two more slides in the area. As of 2:30 pm MDT on the 12th the highway remained closed north of Mink Creek.
Between 4:30 and 6:30 on 6/1/2015 the Franklin County Sheriff's Office received several reports of power lines down with either broken power poles or trees fallen on lines, or power poles and lines fallen on houses. Rocky Mountain Power and Utah Power are still working on restoring power, however, many residents are still without power. Much of the damage was isolated to the West Side of Franklin County. We had one report of a man electrocuted by a downed line, however, he was treated on scene by EMS and released. We had many trees blocking roads which have now been removed, and other reports of property damage due to wind including one cargo trailer which was blown over. We appreciate the help from the Preston Police Department, Franklin County Fire, EMS, Search & Rescue and Road & Bridge, Idaho State Police and Idaho State Fish & Game who all helped cover different calls.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
15,056
Population (ACS)
$373K
Median home value
4
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 |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Franklin County, Idaho?
49 events are on record between 1958 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $1.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Franklin County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 18 recorded events — 36.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Franklin County?
3 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 3 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Franklin County?
4 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Franklin County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Franklin County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Franklin County as very low risk, placing it in the 8 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Franklin 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
- Elmore County 130
- Fremont County 153
- Custer County 70
- Gem County 45
- Clearwater County 93
- Gooding County 46
Cite this page
“Franklin County, Idaho.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/idaho/franklin-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.