Live
Active alerts for this county
Fire Weather Watch
Gallatin National Forest; Wheatland County/Sweet Grass County; Stillwater County; Beartooth Ranger District Custer National Forest; Golden Valley County/Musselshell County; Yellowstone County
Stillwater County, Montana severe weather history spans 287 recorded events between 1958 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 64.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,851 nationally and #23 in Montana.
287
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$2.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Stillwater County, Montana severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Stillwater County, Montana severe weather history averages 4.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 119 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 14 events fall before 1990 and 273 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flood, with $2.8M 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 Stillwater County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 185 | 0 | $5K | 2.75 | 1958–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 76 | 0 | $50K | 70 | 1983–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 12 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2023 |
| Flood | 5 | 0 | $2.8M | 0 | 1997–2019 |
| Heavy Rain | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2005–2005 |
| Wildfire | 2 | 0 | $55K | 0 | 2001–2002 |
| Tornado | 1 | 0 | $0 | F0 | 2005–2005 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2011 |
Decade by decade
Stillwater County, Montana severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
1 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-08-11 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 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
Significant flooding occurred all across Stillwater County, including streams and creeks emerging from the Beartooth Foothills. This resulted in numerous road closures and significant damage in spots to rural roads. Specifically; Whitebird, Benbow, and the Stillwater River roads were closed. During the height of the flooding, a couple of families were stranded by the flood waters. A bridge was washed out on Whitebird Creek. Subsequent flooding on the Stillwater River was observed the May 24-25th. Damage estimates based on FEMA reviews and Individual Assistance approvals.
Many roads along the foothills were washed out or severely damaged due to rain and snowmelt on top of ground that remained frozen. Approximately 12 roads were damaged, 9 of which had to be closed. The county applied for a disaster declaration due to the extent of the damage. Damage amounts totaled $804,387.00.
A strong microburst knocked down two 50 foot cottonwood trees. One tree hit power lines and cut power to two houses. The gusty winds caused considerable crop damage near Absarokee. Some minor damage was sustained by homes and businesses.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
9,182
Population (ACS)
$406K
Median home value
16
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 |
| Jun 16, 2022 | Flood | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 2, 2020 | Fire | FALLING STAR FIRE | FM |
| Mar 31, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Stillwater County, Montana?
287 events are on record between 1958 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $2.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Stillwater County?
Hail, with 185 recorded events — 64.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Stillwater County?
1 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 1 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Stillwater County?
16 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Stillwater County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Stillwater County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Stillwater County as very low risk, placing it in the 17 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Stillwater 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
- Silver Bow County 81
- Sweet Grass County 188
- Sheridan County 357
- Teton County 216
- Sanders County 64
- Toole County 143
Cite this page
“Stillwater County, Montana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/montana/stillwater-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.