Bozeman
Population 58,814 (2025)
3 tornadoes have tracked within 25 miles of Bozeman since 1950, 0 of them rated EF3 or F3 or stronger; the most recent was on July 2, 1997.
Hazard fingerprint Each spoke is this county’s percentile among U.S. counties where that hazard occurs. How it is computed
- Tornado damage paths within 25 miles since 19503
- Wildfire burn scars within 25 miles since 198410
At a glance
Tornado paths within 25 miles, tropical cyclone tracks within 100 miles and wildfire perimeters within 25 miles of the city centre. Storm events, flood insurance claims and disaster declarations are for Gallatin County. Earthquakes within 50 miles, volcanoes within 100 miles and smoke days are measured from the city centre; river and tide gauges, tsunami and landslide records and the drought index are for Gallatin County.
Strongest tornado
F1
June 15, 1960, 1.3 mile path
Tornadoes
About one every 25 years since 1950, none rated F3/EF3 or stronger.
Strongest
June 15, 1960
F1, 1.3 mile path
17 yards wide.
Most recent
Wednesday, July 2, 1997
F0, 0.1 mile path
29 years ago.
Every recorded tornado
| Jul 2, 1997 | F0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 2, 1997 | F0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 15, 1960 | F1 | 1.3 | 0 | 0 |
- Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
- Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.
Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.
Hurricanes and tropical storms
No tropical storm or hurricane has tracked within 100 miles since records began in 1851.
Wildfire and smoke
10 large fires burned within 25 miles since 1984.
Largest
August 19, 2001
Fridley Fire, 27,549 acres
14.0 miles from the city centre.
Most recent
September 4, 2020
Bridger Foothills Fire
8,279 acres in total.
Every large fire
| Bridger Foothills | 2020 | 4.5 | 8,279 |
| Cottonwood Gulch | 2015 | 20.3 | 8,095 |
| Miner Paradise Complex | 2013 | 15.8 | 12,207 |
| Millie | 2012 | 15.4 | 10,487 |
| Paradise Valley | 2012 | 24.9 | 1,130 |
| Bear Trap 2 | 2012 | 23.0 | 14,862 |
| Big Creek | 2006 | 18.7 | 13,413 |
| Cedar Hollow | 2005 | 24.2 | 1,867 |
| Purdy Creek | 2001 | 11.7 | 4,865 |
| Fridley | 2001 | 14.0 | 27,549 |
- Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.
Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.
Smoke overhead
Smokiest year
2021: 63 days
Heavy smoke on 42 days in 2021, the most of any year.
Last 10 years
26.5 days a year
Medium or heavy smoke, 2016 to 2025.
2025
12 days
Medium or heavy smoke. 27 so far in 2026.
- A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.
NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.
Floods and flood insurance
76 federal flood insurance claims since 1978, with $340,000 paid.
Flood insurance figures are for Gallatin County, the county that contains Bozeman.
Most claims in one year
1997: 13 claims
$63,000 paid.
2nd most
1981: 10 claims
$24,000 paid.
3rd most
2011: 9 claims
$31,000 paid.
Claims by ZIP code
| 59715 | 35 | $209,000 |
| 59718 | 13 | $17,000 |
| 59714 | 7 | $23,000 |
| 59741 | 6 | $21,000 |
| 59752 | 6 | $1,224 |
| 59771 | 5 | $17,000 |
Flood events since 1996
- Flood13
- Flash Flood3
This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.
River crests
River gauges in Gallatin County, the county that contains Bozeman.
Most severe crest
February 5, 1963
Gallatin River at Logan, 11.88 ft
2.88 feet above the 9.0 ft flood stage; major flooding by today’s categories.
Most recent moderate or major crest
February 28, 2019
Gallatin River at Logan, 10.87 ft
Moderate flooding.
River gauges
| East Gallatin River below Bridger Creek near Bozeman | 4.5 | 5.60 ft | 0 |
| Gallatin River at Logan | 9.0 | 11.88 ft | 2 |
| Gallatin River near Gallatin Gateway | 6.0 | 7.38 ft | 0 |
- Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.
NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.
Drought
In severe drought or worse for 184 of 1,581 months since 1895 (12%); the longest spell lasted 50 months.
The drought index is for Gallatin County, the county that contains Bozeman.
184
Months in severe drought or worse since 1895
87
Months in extreme drought
12%
Share of all months, severe or worse
Lowest reading
April 1905
−8.13, extreme drought
Longest severe spell
50 months
January 1934 to February 1938.
Latest month
September 2026
−2.09, moderate drought
Last severe month: March 2026.
- The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.
NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.
Earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides
25 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles since 1900; the largest was magnitude 6.6 in 1925.
125
Magnitude 3+ within 50 miles since 1973
25
Magnitude 4+ within 50 miles since 1900
6
Magnitude 5+ within 50 miles since 1900
Largest within 50 miles
June 27, 1925
The 1925 Clarkston Valley, Montana Earthquake; 35.1 miles away.
Most recent, magnitude 3 or more
June 1, 2024
Magnitude 3.0
1 km N of Belgrade, Montana; 9.6 miles away.
Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles
| Aug 15, 2019 | 4.2 | 20.7 |
| Aug 5, 2019 | 4.1 | 20.0 |
| Jul 13, 2019 | 4.0 | 21.2 |
| Jun 17, 2006 | 4.1 | 41.4 |
| Apr 8, 2000 | 4.1 | 48.6 |
| Nov 6, 1997 | 4.0 | 9.4 |
| Aug 7, 1989 | 4.0 | 18.6 |
| Jul 21, 1987 | 4.0 | 31.6 |
| Dec 31, 1983 | 4.0 | 35.1 |
| Mar 10, 1980 | 4.0 | 32.2 |
| Aug 26, 1977 | 4.5 | 37.6 |
| Mar 10, 1977 | 4.6 | 36.9 |
| Feb 7, 1975 | 4.0 | 23.2 |
| Jan 29, 1975 | 4.2 | 47.1 |
| Jul 16, 1974 | 4.4 | 18.5 |
| Nov 1, 1972 | 4.2 | 38.7 |
| Mar 7, 1966 | 4.8 | 47.7 |
| Feb 15, 1963 | 4.5 | 28.9 |
| Feb 15, 1929 | 4.7 | 31.1 |
| Dec 12, 1926 | 5.4 | 29.6 |
| Jul 10, 1925 | 5.5 | 35.1 |
| Jun 27, 1925 | 5.5 | 35.1 |
| Jun 27, 1925 | 5.5 | 35.1 |
| Jun 27, 1925 | 6.4 | 35.1 |
| Jun 27, 1925 | 6.6 | 35.1 |
- Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
- Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).
USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.
Volcanoes within 100 miles
| Yellowstone | 77.0 | High |
- U.S. volcanoes within 100 miles, from the USGS Volcano Hazards Program. The threat category is the USGS 2018 National Volcanic Threat Assessment, which ranks volcanoes by how hazardous their past eruptions were and how many people and how much infrastructure lie near them. It is not a forecast of eruption.
USGS Volcano Hazards Program, retrieved October 30, 2026.
Mapped landslides
Landslides mapped in Gallatin County.
9
Landslides mapped, probable or better
0
With a recorded date
1
Source inventory
Mapped by USGS Conterminous (9).
- Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.
USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.
Severe weather and other events
987 events in the National Weather Service record for Gallatin County, 939 of them since 1996.
71
Hail reports, 1 inch or larger
3
Hail, 2 inches or larger
111
Damaging gusts, 58 mph+
497
Winter weather events since 1996
5
Heat events since 1996
38
Cold events since 1996
Largest hail
June 30, 2010
2.75 inches
Strongest measured or estimated gust
June 27, 1970
106 mph
More event types since 1996
| Lightning | 1 | 1 |
| Dust storms and dust devils | 1 | 0 |
| Debris flows | 1 | 0 |
| Avalanches | 16 | 3 |
Costliest events since 1996
- Jun 30, 2010Hail$60.0 million
National Weather Service narrative
A thunderstorm dropped 1 inch diameter hail at Bozeman.
- Apr 10, 2023Flood$1.0 million
National Weather Service narrative
Churchill area saw pretty good runoff occur. Several locations around Amsterdam (Camp and Godfrey Creeks) had water up against houses. The Highline Canal near Gallatin Gateway overtopped in several locations due to runoff. One house and Axtell Anceny Road were affected. Residents on Dry Creek Road and Swamp Creek Road had flood water around houses. This caused the evacuation of the Bootstrap Ranch. County Roads had several roads closed with water on them.
- Oct 15, 1998Winter Storm, Yellowstone National Park Mt Id / W Park / N Teton$1.0 million
National Weather Service narrative
A severe winter storm moved across Western and Central Wyoming dumping locally heavy snow from southern Yellowstone National Park to the Casper area. The main brunt of the storm was felt in the Casper area where up to 17 inches of snow fell. Strong winds accompanied the heavy snow causing widespread tree damage and power outages. Poor visibilities and icy road conditions caused numerous vehicle accidents.
- Mar 12, 2003Flood, Gallatin$500,000
National Weather Service narrative
With a major snowstorm falling in the mountains in the Helena Valley on March 6th through the 10th, and temperatures quickly rising to near 70 degrees by the 12th, a rapid snow melt occurred in the mountains. This snow melt quickly filled all small streams and creeks. As the snow continued to melt during the afternoon hours, the creeks began to overflow, as some culverts were blocked with ice and debris. The result was some nearby homes and roads next to the creeks were either damaged or washed out. Water was up to a foot deep in some locations. Damage reports in the Helena Valley included about 20 homes with flood damage, and a few secondary roads washed out. The damage cost was…
- Jun 13, 2001Heavy Snow, Gallatin$354,000
National Weather Service narrative
14 inches snowfall reported by spotter at the Montana State University campus in Bozeman...Numerous tree limbs and power lines were downed across town by the weight of the wet snow (automobile damage also occurred due to the falling tree limbs)...damage cost estimate based upon report in newspaper stating that a total of $354000 in damage was done by snow storm to the Bozeman area (including the city of Bozeman...Montana State University...Bozeman Public Schools...and Park Electric Cooperative).
- Jul 18, 2004Debris Flow, Yellowstone National Park$275,000
National Weather Service narrative
A thunderstorm produced very heavy rain late in the evening over Sylvan Pass. A slide of mud and earth oozed onto U.S. Highway 16 about 6 miles west of Yellowstone National Park's east entrance. Four feet of mud and debris trapped sixteen people in four vehicles for three hours. The debris flow was estimated to contain 30,000 tons of mud and rock and was in some cases 10 feet deep. The east entrance of Yellowstone National Park was closed for four days following the mudslide. No injuries occurred.
- Sep 1, 2000Wildfire$160,000
National Weather Service narrative
Maudlow/Toston fire - included Broadwater County, 81687 acres burned, 1 resident destroyed, 1 outbuilding destroyed, human caused, continued from August.
- Aug 15, 2000Wildfire$160,000
National Weather Service narrative
Maudlow/Toston fire - included southeast Broadwater County, 81687 acres burned, 1 resident destroyed, 1 outbuilding destroyed, human caused, continued past August 31.
- Mar 14, 2023Winter Storm, Gallatin And Madison County Mountains And Centennial Mountains$150,000
National Weather Service narrative
Numerous traffic wrecks across the area due to winter weather conditions. US 191 between Big Sky and Gallatin Gateway was completely shutdown at times due to accidents. 16 accidents occurred in the Big Sky area due to weather. One included six vehicles and one semi. No injuries were reported. SNOTEL sites received snow amounts ranging from 8 to 10 inches.
- Aug 5, 1996High Wind, Yellowstone National Park$54,000
- Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.
NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.
Weather records
From Bozeman Montana State University, 1.5 miles from the city centre, with records from 1892.
- All-time high
- 105°FJul 31, 1892
- All-time low
- −43°FFeb 8, 1936
- Warmest night
- 70°FJul 15, 2017
- Coldest day
- −24°FFeb 3, 1989
- Wettest day
- 2.68 inMay 7, 1988
- Snowiest day
- 24.0 inNov 12, 2009
- Hottest year
- 2025mean 47.6°F
- Coldest year
- 1916mean 38.2°F
- Wettest year
- 199725.57 in
- Driest year
- 193410.54 in
- Snowiest season
- 158.5 in1996-97
Median first snow
October 8
Earliest: August 24, 1992
Median last snow
May 12
Latest: June 29, 1968
0 of 75 winters had no measurable snow.
Station Bozeman Montana State University (USC00241044), 4,913 ft elevation, 1.5 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1892 to October 27, 2026; 99.1% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.
NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.
Federal disaster declarations
9 since 1953. The most recent: Bridger Foothills Fire, September 5, 2020.
Declarations for Gallatin County.
| Sep 5, 2020 | Fire | FM-5346-MT |
| Mar 31, 2020 | Biological | DR-4508-MT |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | EM-3476-MT |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Hurricane | EM-3253-MT |
| Jul 7, 2001 | Severe Storm | DR-1385-MT |
| Aug 30, 2000 | Fire | DR-1340-MT |
| Aug 16, 2000 | Fire | FM-2321-MT |
| Feb 23, 1996 | Severe Storm | DR-1105-MT |
| May 27, 1981 | Flood | DR-640-MT |
This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.
Sources and vintage
Every number on this page comes from these public records.
- Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
- Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
- Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
- Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
- Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
- Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
- Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00241044.
- River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
- Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
- Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
- Volcanoes USGS Volcano Hazards Program, U.S. volcanoes and 2018 threat assessment.
- Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
- Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.
Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.