Missoula

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. 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.

Every large fire

1. 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

1. 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.

Flood insurance figures are for Missoula County, the county that contains Missoula.

Claims by ZIP code

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 Missoula County, the county that contains Missoula.

River gauges

1. 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.

The drought index is for Missoula County, the county that contains Missoula.

1. 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.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

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.
2. 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.

Mapped landslides

Landslides mapped in Missoula County.

Mapped by NASA (3).

1. 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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jul 24, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A state of emergency was declared by both the Missoula County Commission Chair and Missoula Mayor because of the unprecedented wind damage that occurred. The 80 to 100 mph winds brought thousands of trees down across the county. It wasn't just a quick gust, but rather high winds that lasted for a couple of minutes. This led to power and transmission poles breaking in half and triggering power outages that lasted for up to a week after, affecting close to 40,000 customers, many of which had to toss out spoiled food. One utility reported 80 power poles were broken across their service area with 42 of those knocked down or shattered along Mullan Road, located approximately 7 miles…

2. Jun 23, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Multiple tree branches were broken across the Pleasant View subdivision. Lawn furniture swing was thrown 10 yards from the back to front yard of a residence.

3. Mar 11, 1996Flood, Missoula / Bitterroot Valleys$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A rapid warming of temperatures, after an extended cold, snowy period, caused ice jams and flooding problems across north central Montana. Many small streams went out of their banks, washing out numerous roads. 3 homes were flooded on the Fort Belknap reservation and most roads were closed. Other hard hit areas included Blaine county where a basement was flooded in the town of Lohman. The Marias river went out of it's banks, flooding low lying areas, including one farm south of Shelby. Several families were evacuated in Harlem where 15 homes were flooded. In Chester, 8 to 10 homes had minor basement flooding and a laundromat was flooded. The estimated damage across the region…

4. Aug 10, 2015Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A macroburst brought damaging winds to the city of Missoula. A 74 mph wind gust was measured at the Missoula airport, but a majority of the damage occurred towards the |South Hills area. Major power lines and large trees were knocked down, and some residents were without power for four days. A local power company reported that several power poles, rated at 80 mph, were snapped in half. Over a million dollars in damages is estimated for this event.

5. Dec 23, 2021Strong Wind, Missoula / Bitterroot Valleys$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A peak wind gust of 54 mph was observed Hamilton. Isolated power outages impacted the Bitterroot Valley.

6. Jun 4, 2001Heavy Snow, Missoula / Bitterroot Valleys$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A late spring storm brought significant rain and snow to both west central and southwest Montana. As temperatures cooled after nightfall, the lower valleys began to see the rain change to snow. The 0.7 inches of snow measured at the National Weather Service office in Missoula was a new record snowfall for the month of June, and only the second time in the past 100 years that measurable snow has been recorded in June. However, this paled in comparison to the 4 to 8 inches of snow that fell in the city of Missoula by the early morning hours of the 4th, with countless tree limbs down and widespread power outages reported by daybreak. Many streets in Missoula were closed due to the…

7. May 1, 1997Flood, Missoula/Bitterroot Valleys$726,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Snowmelt flooding caused numerous road closures and road washouts throughout the region. In Flathead County, at least three road washouts were reported and one bridge damaged. At least 50 homes were flooded, mainly along Ashley Creek and the Stillwater, Swan and Whitefish Rivers. 50 people were isolated along Truman Creek, which washed out an access road. In Missoula County, at least four bridges were damaged, including a collapsed bridge on Sun Ray Lane in Lolo. Hardest hit was property along the Clark Fork River, Lolo and Rock Creeks. Several culverts and dikes were damaged. In Sanders County, extensive flooding occurred from Plains to Thompson Falls. One road washout resulted…

8. Feb 7, 1996Flood, Lower Clark Fork Region$700,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Warmer temperatures, after an extended cold and snowy period, caused numerous flooding problems across central Montana during the second week of February. Snowmelt over frozen ground caused streams and rivers to go out of their banks, washing out roads and bridges. Flooding problems ranged from minor inundation of fields to portions of towns being under water. Ice jams also caused flooding problems as snowmelt ran into frozen streams and rivers. Some of the worst flooding occurred in East Helena where 3 creeks went out of their banks, damaging over 150 homes. Ice jams on the Missouri river caused flooding in Fort Benton. Much of the town was under 1 to 2 feet of water at one…

9. May 9, 2018Flood$450,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Low lying areas adjacent to the Clark Fork River below Missoula to Frenchtown were flooded. The river also flooded numerous homes in the vicinity of Harpers Road from both surface water and groundwater; some homes were evacuated by Missoula County Sheriff's Department. Sandbagging of homes occurred on Mallard Way to keep from flooding.

10. Feb 28, 2014Avalanche, Missoula / Bitterroot Valleys$319,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Near record snowfall for the month of February and strong easterly winds associated with an arctic air mass intrusion, caused severe wind loading on the western slopes of Mount Jumbo between Feb. 27-28. A snowboarder triggered a hard slab avalanche on a west facing, 35 degree slope of Mount Jumbo during the late afternoon of Feb. 28. The snowboarder was caught and carried for several yards before he was able to get out by himself. The avalanche traveled at approximately 80 to 100 mph and caught two children, ages 8 and 10, who were playing in their backyard as it slammed into and destroyed a two story wood frame home built in 1975. One child was partially buried up to their…

1. 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.

All-time high

107°FJul 6, 2007

All-time low

−33°FJan 26, 1957

Warmest night

71°FJul 24, 2007

Coldest day

−13°F3 times, most recently Feb 2, 1989

Wettest day

2.03 inAug 7, 2009

Snowiest day

14.4 inFeb 7, 1975

Hottest year

2007mean 48.0°F

Coldest year

1964mean 40.9°F

Wettest year

199821.81 in

Driest year

19528.62 in

Snowiest season

111.2 in1996-97

Station Missoula International Airport (USW00024153), 3,195 ft elevation, 4.5 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 27, 2026; 100.0% 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.

Declarations for Missoula County.

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.

• 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 USW00024153.
• 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.
• 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.