Powell County, Montana severe weather history spans 103 recorded events between 1962 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 63.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,872 nationally and #46 in Montana.
103
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$983K
Property damage
The record
What the Powell County, Montana severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Powell County, Montana severe weather history averages 1.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 32 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 7 events fall before 1990 and 96 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 $633K in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Powell County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 65 | 0 | $30K | 2 | 1982–2023 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 27 | 0 | $633K | 75 | 1988–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2014 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $70K | 0 | 2011–2018 |
| Tornado | 2 | 0 | $250K | F1 | 1962–1982 |
| Flash Flood | 2 | 0 | $500 | 0 | 1998–2014 |
Decade by decade
Powell 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982-06-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-05-04 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-05-17 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 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
Cottonwood Creek overflowed its banks in downtown Deer Lodge on the afternoon of June 19. The excessive runoff flooded basements and surrounded numerous homes as water covered a whole city block. The Clark Street Bridge was over topped and remained closed for over a day. In addition, Tin Cup Joe Creek and Fred Burr Creek also experienced minor flooding.
A very large right-moving supercell tracked east-northeast from Goldcreek to north of Avon bringing with it large hail, severe winds and heavy rain. A rancher 5 miles north of Avon reported a totaled barn, several trees that were either uprooted or broken in half. One of those trees uprooted was a 24 cottonwood.
A very large right-moving supercell unleashed up to ping pong sized hail that decimated a four to five foot tall hay crop. The hail covered the ground to a depth of 2 inches in spots. At least 10 windows were broken. Paint was chipped off from homes. Other damage included a greenhouse roof, vehicle windows and vegetation.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
7,053
Population (ACS)
$307K
Median home value
17
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 7, 2026 | Straight-Line Winds | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Aug 26, 2025 | Fire | WINDY ROCK FIRE | FM |
| 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 |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Powell County, Montana?
103 events are on record between 1962 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $983K in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Powell County?
Hail, with 65 recorded events — 63.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Powell 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 Powell County?
17 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Powell County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Powell County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Powell County as very low risk, placing it in the 10 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Powell 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
- Powder River County 578
- Prairie County 337
- Pondera County 141
- Ravalli County 180
- Phillips County 610
- Richland County 491
Cite this page
“Powell County, Montana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/montana/powell-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.