Blaine County, Montana severe weather history spans 252 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 42.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,090 nationally and #26 in Montana.
252
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$4.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Blaine County, Montana severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Blaine County, Montana severe weather history averages 3.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 85 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 19 events fall before 1990 and 233 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is hail, with $2.1M 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 Blaine County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 107 | 0 | $301K | 87 | 1957–2025 |
| Hail | 102 | 0 | $2.1M | 4 | 1957–2025 |
| Flood | 17 | 0 | $2.1M | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Tornado | 7 | 0 | $50K | F1 | 1999–2022 |
| Heavy Rain | 7 | 0 | $0 | 150 | 2005–2022 |
| Funnel Cloud | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2014 |
| Flash Flood | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2025 |
| Wildfire | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2000 |
Decade by decade
Blaine County, Montana severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
8 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 7 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988-07-05 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 3.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2002-07-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-08-26 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 3.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-07-06 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 4.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-06-13 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-07-31 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-06-20 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-06-18 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 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
Significant flooding occurred along the Milk River across Blaine County. The Rocky Boy SNOTEL station which is the main Milk River basin station peaked later than normal and had over 3.5 times the snow water equivalent that it normally would on April 6 (10.7��� of snow water equivalent versus a normal of 3.0���). When this thick snowpack melted, virtually the entire Milk River system flooded in a matter of days, as a result. The Milk River near Harlem crested at 23.80 feet on April 12, which as of this entry was the seventh highest river level recorded at this site. Roughly 4,000 aces of irrigation land was flooded. Chinook water plant was surrounded by water. Several roads and homes were impacted.
A severe thunderstorm moved across southern Blaine County during the late afternoon hours on the 8th. This storm produced golf ball sized hail, and wind gusts in excess of 100 mph. A tornado developed shortly after 1600 MST. This tornado was short lived, but it did do some crop damage, along with damage to 3 residences. Several barns were destroyed and a few other structures lost roofs. One vehicle suffered major damage.
The river gauge Clear Creek near Chinook MT – USGS-06142400 showed water rose quicky rose above bank full due to a thunderstorm beginning late on the 27th. It crested to 8.36ft early on the 28th. The water receded back into it's bank shortly after in the early morning of the 28th. No reported damages from the flood.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
6,949
Population (ACS)
$156K
Median home value
13
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 7, 2026 | Straight-Line Winds | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Jul 18, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 12, 2023 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| Mar 31, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Aug 30, 2018 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Blaine County, Montana?
252 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $4.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Blaine County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 107 recorded events — 42.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Blaine County?
8 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 7 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Blaine County?
13 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Blaine County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Blaine County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Blaine County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 46 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Blaine County, Montana 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
- Big Horn County 439
- Broadwater County 80
- Beaverhead County 196
- Carbon County 191
- Carter County 457
- Cascade County 620
Cite this page
“Blaine County, Montana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/montana/blaine-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.