Live
Active alerts for this county
Red Flag Warning
North Bighorn Basin/Worland BLM; Cody Foothills; Lincoln and Uinta Counties/Lower Elevations; Upper Green River Basin/Rock Springs BLM; Sweetwater County/Rock Springs BLM/Flaming Gorge NRA; Natrona County/Casper BLM; Johnson County/Casper BLM; South Bighorn Basin/Worland BLM; Upper Wind River Basin/Wind River Basin; South Bighorn Mountains; Absaroka Mountains/North Shoshone NF; Owl Creek Mountains; East Wind River Mountains/South Shoshone NF; Granite/Green/Ferris/Rattlesnake Mountains; Casper Mountain
Hot Springs County, Wyoming severe weather history spans 129 recorded events between 1965 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 50.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,784 nationally and #19 in Wyoming.
129
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$2.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Hot Springs County, Wyoming severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Hot Springs County, Wyoming severe weather history averages 2.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 45 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 9 events fall before 1990 and 120 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Hot Springs County, Wyoming record is wildfire, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $1.6M 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 Hot Springs County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 65 | 0 | $1.0M | 2.5 | 1965–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 35 | 0 | $28K | 70 | 1975–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 12 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2022 |
| Flash Flood | 8 | 0 | $1.6M | 0 | 1999–2019 |
| Tornado | 6 | 0 | $75K | F2 | 1985–2024 |
| Wildfire | 3 | 1 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2000 |
Decade by decade
Hot Springs County, Wyoming severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
5 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-07-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-09-09 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-06-03 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 2.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-06-14 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-05-29 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Hot Springs County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 7, 2000 | Wildfire | THERMOPOLIS | 1 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Very heavy rain fell in southern Hot Springs County. This triggered numerous mud and rock slides, some tumbling several hundred feet or more to the bottom of the Wind River Canyon. State Highway 789 through the canyon was covered with mud, rock, and debris in several locations between mileposts 120 and 123. One Wyoming Department of Transportation employee was briefly trapped in his front-end loader as he tried to clear away small slides at the onset of the event. The massive amount of debris on the highway resulted in the closure of the road from Sunday afternoon, May 24, until Wednesday morning, May 27. Additional slides on the west side of the Wind River Canyon destroyed several sections of railroad track that resulted in a halt of train traffic for several days.
A storm developed over the Lee of the Absarokas and quickly became severe as it moved eastward into Hot Springs County. On a long path there were numerous reports of golf ball sized hail, with a maximum size of over two inches in diameter at Hot Springs State Park, just east of Thermopolis, Wyoming. There were numerous reports of damaged siding as well as broken windows on cars and buildings along the hail path.
Heavy rain from a severe thunderstorm produced widespread flash flooding northwest of Thermopolis. Radar estimated 30 to 40 minute rainfall amounts to be from 1.00 to 1.75 inches. The flash flooding was primarily concentrated along state highways 120 and 170 near Owl Creek. Areas hardest hit along highway 120 extended from mile markers five to nine. Six homes were evacuated in this four mile stretch and at least two of the homes were flooded. One resident estimated water depth to be three to six feet, which damaged outbuildings, a well house, and a cistern. Some hay fields were reported to be waist deep in water.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
4,620
Population (ACS)
$228K
Median home value
4
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 15, 2025 | Fire | RED CANYON FIRE | FM |
| Apr 11, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| May 29, 1978 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING & MUDSLIDES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Hot Springs County, Wyoming?
129 events are on record between 1965 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $2.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Hot Springs County?
Hail, with 65 recorded events — 50.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Hot Springs County?
5 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 5 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Hot Springs County?
4 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Hot Springs County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Hot Springs County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Hot Springs County as very low risk, placing it in the 16 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Hot Springs County, Wyoming 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
- Goshen County 680
- Johnson County 290
- Fremont County 452
- Laramie County 1,592
- Crook County 839
- Lincoln County 105
Cite this page
“Hot Springs County, Wyoming.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/wyoming/hot-springs-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.