Daniels County, Montana severe weather history spans 278 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 57.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,910 nationally and #24 in Montana.
278
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$359K
Property damage
The record
What the Daniels County, Montana severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Daniels County, Montana severe weather history averages 4.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 91 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 17 events fall before 1990 and 261 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 $163K 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 Daniels County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 161 | 0 | $151K | 4 | 1956–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 74 | 0 | $163K | 75 | 1966–2026 |
| Tornado | 10 | 0 | $5K | F1 | 1959–2023 |
| Heavy Rain | 10 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2023 |
| Flood | 9 | 0 | $30K | 0 | 1999–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 8 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2010 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 2003–2023 |
Decade by decade
Daniels County, Montana severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
11 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962-08-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 42.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1991-06-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-06-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 10.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-06-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-06-01 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-07-20 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-06-08 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-06-08 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-06-08 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-06-08 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 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
A severe thunderstorm moved into Scobey while a concert was going on at the fair grounds. Loud speakers and equipment were blown off of the stage. Power was knocked out in parts of Scobey and the local radio station was off of the air.
Law enforcement and the public reported a landspout tornado near 8 SW West Fork. The tornado lasted about 10 minutes, with no visible damage to properties or fields. With no|visible indicators, the length of path and path width were estimated.
The water level at the Poplar River gauge, near the international border (PPRM8), rose above its flood stage of 6 feet at 7:27 PM local time on the 16th, quickly crested at 8.92 feet at 12:28 AM local time on the 17th, then eventually dropped and remained below flood stage at 6:30 AM local time on the 19th.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
1,494
Population (ACS)
$185K
Median home value
8
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 11, 2023 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 12, 2023 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| Mar 31, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| May 24, 2019 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| Jun 17, 2011 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Daniels County, Montana?
278 events are on record between 1956 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $359K in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Daniels County?
Hail, with 161 recorded events — 57.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Daniels County?
11 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 10 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Daniels County?
8 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Daniels County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Daniels County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Daniels County as very low risk, placing it in the 2 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Daniels 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
- Custer County 544
- Dawson County 544
- Chouteau County 331
- Deer Lodge County 46
- Cascade County 620
- Fallon County 348
Cite this page
“Daniels County, Montana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/montana/daniels-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.