Garfield County, Montana severe weather history spans 619 recorded events between 1965 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 47.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #542 nationally and #4 in Montana.
619
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$3.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Garfield County, Montana severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Garfield County, Montana severe weather history averages 10.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 291 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 13 events fall before 1990 and 606 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is wildfire, with $2.9M 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 Garfield County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 291 | 0 | $183K | 3 | 1965–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 264 | 0 | $316K | 82 | 1971–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 20 | 0 | $226K | 0 | 1997–2023 |
| Flood | 16 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2023 |
| Tornado | 12 | 0 | $3K | F0 | 1975–2014 |
| Heavy Rain | 7 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2020 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2011 |
| Wildfire | 4 | 0 | $2.9M | 0 | 2003–2003 |
Decade by decade
Garfield County, Montana severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
13 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-06-17 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2003-08-07 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2003-07-08 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2003-07-08 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-07-31 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-07-20 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 28.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-08-14 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-07-17 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-08-13 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-05-11 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Garfield County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 1, 2007 | Hail | MOSBY | 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 bow echo thunderstorm raked through the area destroying sheds, wiping out crops and hay fields, and causing significant loss of property. The bow echo started producing severe wind gusts and at least 1/2 hail about 25 miles northwest of Jordan in the Brussett area and tracked east-northeast through the county. Golf ball sized hail was reported with the winds south of the Hell Creek area. Twenty-six families were impacted with damage to their structures, livestock and crops. A total of 213,440 acres of rangeland, wheat and hay fields were damaged partially to totally wiped out. Six horses and a cow had to be put down due to injuries they received during the storm. Damage information was gathered from the Jordan Tribune, and the USDA FSA agent in the county.
3 to 9 inches of rain fell over eastern Garfield County in less than 5 hours. Flooding closed Highway 200 from Jordan to the junction of Highway 24 for most of the night and caused some damage along bridges on Highway 200.
Heavy rainfall from the night of June 22, 2002 contributed to the failure of the Ross Dam #2 stock dam. Rainfall amounts up to 9 inches were reported in the drainage basin that flow into the dam. The dam was nearly empty prior to the heavy rain event, and then filled up three-quarters of the way to a series of holes which had been dug by animals. The water pushed through the holes, and caused the dam to then collapse. The subsequent deluge downstream flooded out the basement of a home, lifted several older vehicles and transported them downstream, and caused considerable damage to a culvert. The damage to the culvert lead to the U-ALL Road being washed out.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
1,094
Population (ACS)
$170K
Median home value
13
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 7, 2026 | Straight-Line Winds | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Oct 11, 2023 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 13, 2021 | Other | STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Sep 2, 2020 | Fire | HUFF FIRE | FM |
| Mar 31, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Jordan 168
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Garfield County, Montana?
619 events are on record between 1965 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $3.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Garfield County?
Hail, with 291 recorded events — 47.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Garfield County?
13 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 13 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Garfield County?
13 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Garfield County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Garfield County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Garfield County as very low risk, placing it in the 2 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Garfield 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
- Gallatin County 237
- Glacier County 171
- Flathead County 203
- Golden Valley County 156
- Fergus County 515
- Granite County 57
Cite this page
“Garfield County, Montana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/montana/garfield-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.