Benewah County

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.

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

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.

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 county boundary (or inside the county).
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

Mapped by ID GS (18), NASA (1).

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. Sep 1, 2023Wildfire, Central Panhandle Mountains$24.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Ridge Creek Wildfire was started by unknown causes along the North of Trail 234 and on both sides of Hayden Creek 437 Road. It burned 4474 of timber and grass. No structures lost.

2. Aug 3, 2023Wildfire, Central Panhandle Mountains$24.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Ridge Creek Wildfire was started by unknown causes along the North of Trail 234 and on both sides of Hayden Creek 437 Road. It burned 4474 of timber and grass. No structures lost.

3. Jul 15, 2024Wildfire, Central Panhandle Mountains$2.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Texas Wildfire started July 15 from human cause. It burned 1582 acres of timber and 4 homes. Cost is estimated.

4. Jul 21, 2023Wildfire, Central Panhandle Mountains$2.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tyson fire started on July 21 from unknown cause. It burned in 155 acres of timber. It was contained on July 31.

5. Sep 3, 2022Wildfire, Central Panhandle Mountains$2.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning started the Prospect Wildfire on September 3 Northeast of Moscow near the Meadow Creek and Prospect Creek junction. It burned 291 acres of timber.

6. Aug 1, 2024Wildfire, Central Panhandle Mountains$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Texas Wildfire started July 15 from unknown human cause. It is located two miles East of Kendrick, Idaho. It continued until August 4. It burned 1582 acres of timber and 4 homes. Cost is estimated.

7. Jun 16, 2026Wildfire, Central Panhandle Mountains$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The fire start 8 miles from east of Kellogg. It burned an estimated 213 acres of timber, litter, and 3 out buildings. Around 200 people impacted by evacuations around Elizabeth Park and Elk Creek. It was contained on June 23. Wind gusts were into the low 20 mph range. Damage is estimated.

8. Aug 1, 2018Wildfire, Central Panhandle Mountains$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Surprise Creek Wildfire in a remote portion of Shoshone County is believed to have been caused by lightning on July 27th. It grew and eventually burned 3300 acres of timber in a wilderness area. No structures were threatened or lost. The cost of firefighting resources to contain the blaze was calculated at 1.3 million dollars.

9. Aug 1, 2018Wildfire, Central Panhandle Mountains$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Rampike Wildfire is believed to have been caused by lightning on July 31st. The fire burned 3100 acres in a remote wilderness area of Shoshone County. No structures were lost or threatened. The cost of the resources necessary to contain the fire was calculated at 1.0 million dollars.

10. Feb 2, 1999High Wind, Idaho Palouse$1.0 million

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

110°FAug 11, 2018

All-time low

−29°FDec 30, 1968

Warmest night

75°FJun 29, 2015

Coldest day

−6°FDec 31, 1978

Wettest day

2.50 inApr 18, 1899

Snowiest day

14.0 inJan 25, 1982

Hottest year

1934mean 51.2°F

Coldest year

1985mean 44.6°F

Wettest year

199646.95 in

Driest year

192814.75 in

Snowiest season

146.5 in1996-97

Station Saint Maries (USC00108062), 2,151 ft elevation, 4.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1897 to October 26, 2026; 89.2% 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USC00108062.
• 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.