Missoula County, Montana severe weather history spans 272 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 43.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,950 nationally and #25 in Montana.
272
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
6
Direct injuries
$8.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Missoula County, Montana severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Missoula County, Montana severe weather history averages 4.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 87 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 28 events fall before 1990 and 244 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Missoula County, Montana record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $7.5M in reported property damage. In total, 10 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Missoula County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 117 | 0 | $22K | 2.5 | 1958–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 108 | 1 | $7.5M | 80 | 1957–2025 |
| Flood | 21 | 0 | $520K | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Heavy Rain | 12 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 2004–2025 |
| Dust Devil | 3 | 0 | $40K | 52 | 2003–2016 |
| Lightning | 3 | 1 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2003 |
| Flash Flood | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2021 |
| Tornado | 2 | 0 | $30 | F0 | 1983–1995 |
| Wildfire | 2 | 0 | $250K | 0 | 2003–2003 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2003 |
Decade by decade
Missoula County, Montana severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
3 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995-08-07 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-03-03 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-07-20 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Missoula County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 8, 1998 | Lightning | MISSOULA | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 10, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | MISSOULA | 1 | 0 | $260K |
| Aug 17, 2003 | Dust Devil | NINE MILE | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Jul 16, 2002 | Lightning | MISSOULA | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 8, 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | MISSOULA | 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 macroburst brought damaging winds to the city of Missoula. A 74 mph wind gust was measured at the Missoula airport, but a majority of the damage occurred towards the |South Hills area. Major power lines and large trees were knocked down, and some residents were without power for four days. A local power company reported that several power poles, rated at 80 mph, were snapped in half. Over a million dollars in damages is estimated for this event.
Low lying areas adjacent to the Clark Fork River below Missoula to Frenchtown were flooded. The river also flooded numerous homes in the vicinity of Harpers Road from both surface water and groundwater; some homes were evacuated by Missoula County Sheriff's Department. Sandbagging of homes occurred on Mallard Way to keep from flooding.
Strong southerly outflow winds of 45 to 60 mph downed hundreds of live trees, primarily ponderosa and larch varieties. Most of the trees were uprooted but a few had tops blown out. The main area of damage extended from Salmon Lake to the Seeley Lake area with isolated areas of damage around the Morrell Falls trailhead and near Condon. Multi-hour power outages were common along with several vehicles damaged by fallen trees. In addition, hikers were stranded by fallen trees for a time at the Morrell Falls trailhead.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
120,672
Population (ACS)
$472K
Median home value
21
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 7, 2026 | Straight-Line Winds | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Aug 23, 2024 | Straight-Line Winds | STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Mar 31, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Oct 31, 2018 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 9, 2017 | Fire | RICE RIDGE FIRE | FM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Missoula County, Montana?
272 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths and $8.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Missoula County?
Hail, with 117 recorded events — 43.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Missoula County?
3 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 3 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Missoula County?
21 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Missoula County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Missoula County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Missoula County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 77 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Missoula 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
- Mineral County 41
- Musselshell County 324
- Meagher County 87
- Park County 243
- Madison County 84
- Petroleum County 225
Cite this page
“Missoula County, Montana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/montana/missoula-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.