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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
Natrona County, Wyoming severe weather history spans 400 recorded events between 1959 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 41.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,255 nationally and #8 in Wyoming.
400
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
10
Direct injuries
$10.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Natrona County, Wyoming severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Natrona County, Wyoming severe weather history averages 6.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 112 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 82 events fall before 1990 and 318 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Natrona County, Wyoming record is dust devil, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $9.9M 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 Natrona County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 165 | 0 | $128K | 3 | 1959–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 142 | 0 | $81K | 75 | 1959–2026 |
| Tornado | 40 | 0 | $453K | F2 | 1962–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 29 | 0 | $9.9M | 0 | 2001–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 17 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2024 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $250K | 0 | 2006–2013 |
| Wildfire | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2002 |
| Dust Devil | 1 | 1 | $1K | 0 | 2008–2008 |
Decade by decade
Natrona County, Wyoming severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
38 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 38 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987-06-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1987-07-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-07-20 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-05-29 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-06-11 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 52.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-06-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 10.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-07-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1986-06-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-05-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-08-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Natrona County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 18, 2008 | Dust Devil | CASPER | 1 | 0 | $1K |
| Jun 11, 1962 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $25K | |
| May 29, 1971 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $0 | |
| Jul 4, 2009 | Flash Flood | MOUNTAIN VIEW | 0 | 1 | $5.0M |
| Jul 21, 2000 | Hail | MIDWEST | 0 | 1 | $108K |
| Jul 21, 1978 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A 34-year-old woman was killed when a dust devil flipped a small scorer's shed next to a team dugout at a youth ball field complex. The woman apparently sought shelter from the dust devil by positioning herself behind the shed. The shed was flipped one-half revolution, crushing her on the first flip and then rolling off of her. The woman was found about 10 minutes later as teams begin arriving for their evening games. Resuscitation efforts failed and she was declared dead at the scene.
Rainfall reports for the 24 hour period including the flash flood event ranged from 1.30 to 3.47 inches. Flooding was initially reported in downtown Casper where cars where were reported as floating in flowing water. On the south side of Casper, a house was reported as shifted off of its foundation. Interstate 25 became flooded at the peak of the event, and was closed for until well after rainfall ended. Low-lying tunnels on the south side of Casper had as much as 5 feet of water in them at the height of the storm. Damage values have been updated as of Oct 2023 and are from the FEMA presidential disaster declaration, FEMA-4739-DR-WY. No injuries or fatalities were reported to the NWS.
Rainfall estimated by radar to be three inches or more fell in a swath from Emigrant Gap to Bar Nunn. The heavy rain caused flash flooding along Poison Spider Road and other nearby roads as culverts could not handle the large volume of water. Portions of a ranch along Poison Spider Road were under several feet of water. A mobile home park south of Bar Nunn was flooded as water flowed from surrounding higher terrain. The lower floor of the rural Poison Spider Elementary School sustained flood damage as the water poured in through several doorways.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
79,977
Population (ACS)
$273K
Median home value
8
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 11, 2023 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 11, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Oct 11, 2015 | Fire | STATION FIRE | FM |
| Sep 9, 2012 | Fire | SHEEP HERDER HILL FIRE COMPLEX | FM |
| Aug 14, 2006 | Fire | JACKSON CANYON FIRE | FM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Natrona County, Wyoming?
400 events are on record between 1959 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $10.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Natrona County?
Hail, with 165 recorded events — 41.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Natrona County?
38 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 38 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Natrona County?
8 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Natrona County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Natrona County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Natrona County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 69 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Natrona 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
- Lincoln County 105
- Niobrara County 303
- Laramie County 1,592
- Park County 199
- Johnson County 290
- Platte County 564
Cite this page
“Natrona County, Wyoming.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/wyoming/natrona-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.