215
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$1.3M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Richland County, Montana: 215 recorded events between 1959 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 103. That places the county #917 nationally and #10 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Richland County, Montana: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Richland County is the 2000s, when 67 of the county's 215 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Richland County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 43.8% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #917 for this hazard and #10 within Montana, putting it in the 70.8 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Richland County with 84 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 24, 2012 | LAMBERT | 83 | 0 | 1 | $162K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 22, 2026 | SAVAGE | 51 | $0 |
| Apr 22, 2026 | ENID | 51 | $0 |
| Apr 22, 2026 | CRANE | 53 | $0 |
| Apr 22, 2026 | SAVAGE | 52 | $0 |
| Apr 22, 2026 | ENID | 50 | $0 |
| Aug 8, 2025 | LAMBERT | 56 | $0 |
| Aug 8, 2025 | LAMBERT | 50 | $0 |
| Aug 8, 2025 | LAMBERT | 70 | $0 |
| Jul 10, 2025 | SAVAGE | 54 | $0 |
| Jun 16, 2025 | ENID | 52 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Richland County
- Hail 214
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Initial reports came from Richland County Sheriff's Department and then also from trained spotters in the area. There were a total of 8 large steel tanks blown over that weigh 12,000-14,000 pounds each. They were empty, and not staked into the ground yet. They stood about 25 feet tall and 8 feet across. Consulted with expert damage assessors with NWS Warning Decision Training Branch and at the University of Oklahoma, who agreed with the NWS Glasgow wind speed estimate of 95 mph winds to blow those tanks over. A 5th wheel camper was also blown over at the site, and an occupant was injured, but was not transported to the closest medical center. A pickup truck was also crushed under the tanks.
Based on photos from emergency management and in discussion with those in the area, the wind speed is estimated to be at least 90 mph. Trees were stripped of their leaves, windows were broken, There was a home with part of the roof torn off, windows broken a shed completely destroyed, and a nearly one hundred year old barn that had been restored in the past two years that was destroyed.
A large, four-year old roping barn was destroyed by a microburst. The winds peeled the metal roof back, the tresses collapsed, and the east wall was blown eastward. Based on photographs from the Emergency Manager, and archived radar data, the maximum wind gusts from the microburst were estimated at 95 mph.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Richland County, Montana?
215 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Richland County between 1959 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Richland County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Richland County measured 103.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Richland County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Thunderstorm Wind in Richland County, Montana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/montana/richland-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.