Gem County, Idaho severe weather history spans 45 recorded events between 1964 and 2024. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 40.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #3,072 nationally and #42 in Idaho.
45
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$1.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Gem County, Idaho severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Gem County, Idaho severe weather history averages 0.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 1990s, with 10 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 12 events fall before 1990 and 33 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flood, with $1.0M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Gem County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 18 | 0 | $5K | 61 | 1973–2024 |
| Hail | 12 | 0 | $0 | 1.75 | 1964–2016 |
| Flood | 5 | 0 | $1.0M | 0 | 2010–2017 |
| Tornado | 4 | 0 | $3K | F1 | 1991–2004 |
| Wildfire | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–1997 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2023–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2002–2002 |
Decade by decade
Gem County, Idaho severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
4 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991-06-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-08-25 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2002-02-07 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2002-09-29 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Thunderstorms rolled across Gem County producing winds gusting to 53 knots (61 mph) and dropping hail up to 1.0 inches in diameter along a path from 2 miles northwest of Emmett to 2 miles east of Emmett. Numerous trees and power lines were brought down by the storm.
For the third consecutive day, thunderstorms forming in the flow around a cut-off low pressure system, moved east to west across southwest Idaho. The hardest hit areas were in Gem and Boise Counties, both of which are just north of the Boise metropolitan area. At 1443 MST, a thunderstorm produced dime-size hail in Idaho City, 25 miles northeast of Boise. Fifty minutes later, this same storm produced dime-size hail in Horseshoe Bend, 20 miles north of Boise. As the storm moved into Gem County, surface observations and radar indicated that it had intensified. Just north of Sweet, 25 miles north of Boise, a Gem County Sheriff reported quarter-size hail accumulating to a depth of two to three inches. The thunderstorm also began producing heavy rains near Sweet. A spotter at Black Canyon Dam, 25 miles northwest of Boise, received an inch of rain in less than an hour. These rains produced a rock slide across State Highway 52 south of Sweet. The rock slide blocked off the highway until midday the following day.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
20,614
Population (ACS)
$429K
Median home value
7
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 19, 2022 | Fire | FOUR CORNERS FIRE | FM |
| Apr 9, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jul 27, 2010 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA | EM |
| Jan 4, 1997 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, MUD AND LANDSLIDES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Gem County, Idaho?
45 events are on record between 1964 and 2024, causing 0 direct deaths and $1.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Gem County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 18 recorded events — 40.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Gem County?
4 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 4 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Gem County?
7 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Gem County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Gem County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Gem County as very low risk, placing it in the 34 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Gem 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
- Fremont County 153
- Gooding County 46
- Franklin County 49
- Idaho County 155
- Elmore County 130
- Jefferson County 234
Cite this page
“Gem County, Idaho.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/idaho/gem-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.