Dawson County, Montana severe weather history spans 544 recorded events between 1953 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 44.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #746 nationally and #9 in Montana.
544
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$8.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Dawson County, Montana severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Dawson County, Montana severe weather history averages 7.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 188 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 37 events fall before 1990 and 507 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Dawson County, Montana record is lightning, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $5.6M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Dawson County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 243 | 0 | $143K | 4 | 1958–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 239 | 0 | $5.6M | 104 | 1959–2025 |
| Flood | 17 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 2011–2025 |
| Tornado | 15 | 0 | $2.6M | F2 | 1953–2018 |
| Flash Flood | 10 | 0 | $112K | 0 | 1997–2018 |
| Heavy Rain | 10 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2019 |
| Funnel Cloud | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2023 |
| Lightning | 3 | 1 | $11K | 0 | 1999–2020 |
| Wildfire | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2003 |
Decade by decade
Dawson County, Montana severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
16 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961-06-29 | EF4 | 0 | 1 | 15.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-06-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1953-06-23 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 33.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-05-23 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-07-05 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-07-20 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-07-20 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-08-26 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-08-13 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-08-13 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Dawson County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 31, 2020 | Lightning | GLENDIVE DAWSON ARPT | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 3, 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | GLENDIVE | 0 | 1 | $380K |
| May 29, 1999 | Lightning | GLENDIVE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 29, 1961 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $2.5M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A severe thunderstorm brought damaging winds and hail to central portions of Dawson County. The areas hardest hit extended from Lindsay to Bloomfield. In many areas crops were a total loss. Several barns were blown down damaging equipment and machinery.
The area from about 10 miles southeast of Richey to 2 miles southeast of Bloomfield had approximately 12,000 acres of crop damage and high winds that caused some grain hoppers to be blown over. A grain hopper near county road 515 was completely toppled over and rolled about 150 to 200 yards downstream. Two miles southeast of Bloomfield, there were 5 grain hoppers that weigh 5,500 pound each, and two of the hoppers were toppled over. The crop damage was due to hail reported up to 1.5 inches in diameter with winds in the 40 to 60 mph range that lasted for 30 to 45 minutes.
Thunderstorms which produced up to 4 inches of rainfall caused the water in the Glendive Creek approximately 6 miles east of Glendive to go from 6 inches deep and 6 feet wide to approximately 12 feet deep and nearly 100 feet wide. The water crossed old Highway 10. About 6 miles northeast of Glendive a bridge on Belle Prairie Road was washed out as well as a culvert on Road 311.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
8,827
Population (ACS)
$185K
Median home value
10
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 7, 2026 | Straight-Line Winds | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Aug 13, 2021 | Other | STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Mar 31, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Apr 17, 2014 | Flood | ICE JAMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 10, 2013 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Glendive 188
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Dawson County, Montana?
544 events are on record between 1953 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $8.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Dawson County?
Hail, with 243 recorded events — 44.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Dawson County?
16 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 16 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Dawson County?
10 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Dawson County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Dawson County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Dawson County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 64 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Dawson 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
- Daniels County 278
- Deer Lodge County 46
- Custer County 544
- Fallon County 348
- Chouteau County 331
- Fergus County 515
Cite this page
“Dawson County, Montana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/montana/dawson-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.