Caribou County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Caribou County: 0.
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.

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.

Volcanoes within 100 miles

1. 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

Mapped by ID GS (128).

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. Jun 1, 2023Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Extreme snowmelt from heavy snowfall and extreme flows on the Portneuf River caused damage to the Chesterfield Reservoir spillway. The old structure started to deconstruct and makeshift repairs were made to alleviate any significant flooding. Cost to repair the damaged structure were estimated at around 1.5 million dollars.

2. Feb 4, 2017Flood$427,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A warmup in early February caused extensive sheet flooding throughout Caribou County. The main issues were extensive flooded back roads, extensive field flooding. Lots of agricultural land was affected with extensive property and road damage. Many of the road closures occurred in the Grace area with the worst flooding from the 8th through the 14th. Several houses to the south of Grace flooded and more road flooding occurred after the 19th. Caribou County did declare a county disaster.

3. Mar 21, 2025Winter Weather, Caribou Range$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong cold front brought winds in excess of 50 mph to the area. Blowing snow impacted highway 26 leading to a closure of the highway from Ririe to Swan Valley. Multiple vehicle crashes reported prior to closing. An 18-wheeler jackknifed and damaged a guardrail. A box truck slid off the road and was on its side in ditch.

4. Dec 17, 2025High Wind, Marsh And Arbon Highlands$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Extreme winds caused extensive damage in the Marsh and Arbon Highlands. The highest wind gust was 77 mph at Marsh Valley on interstate 15. Other measured gusts were: 62 mph 2 miles southwest of McCammon, 69 mph 2 miles south of McCammon, 68 mph at Topaz on US Highway 30, 56 mph at Swan Canyon, and 58 mph 7 miles south southeast of Pocatello. ||A large camper trailer was blown over on it's roof in Lava Hot Springs. A semi was blown over on interstate 15 near exit 31, 4 semi trucks blown over near Marsh Valley High School on interstate 15. All told 19 vehicles were blown or rolled over with most of them semis on interstate 15 in the Arimo to McCammon corridor blocking several lanes…

5. Sep 17, 2000Lightning$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A lightning ignited fire destroyed a school at the Chesterfield historic town site. The 81 year old school , constructed of hand made brick and mortar, housed the historical records of the Chesterfield foundation. Fortunately, most of the hundreds of historical books, ledgers and museum displays were saved prior to the school becoming totally engulfed in flames. The school had educated children until 1941 and had remained a focal point for visitors interested in Chesterfield's LDS (Mormon) heritage.

6. Mar 1, 2023Winter Weather, Marsh And Arbon Highlands$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   After multiple events of heavy snowfall, a roof of the Blue Moon Bar and Grill collapsed on the 1st in Lava Hot Springs. It occurred around 330 PM MST on South 1st East Street. Multiple people escaped the building with some injuries occurring. One woman was transported to Portneuf Medical Center for minor injuries.

7. Sep 22, 2018Wildfire, Blackfoot Mountains$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A fire which was begun 5 miles southeast of Soda Springs by sparks from a welder repairing a mail box, burned 1,066 acres and destroyed 2 summer homes and 2 trailers. The fire began September 22nd at around 2 pm MDT and was 100 percent contained on September 25th. It burned in grass, brush and scattered timber.

8. Mar 1, 2023Heavy Snow, Marsh And Arbon Highlands$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A season of continued heavy snowfall resulted in the roof of the Blue Moon Bar and Grill collapsing on the 1st in Lava Hot Springs. It occurred around 330 PM MST on South 1st East Street. Multiple people escaped the building with some injuries occurring. One woman was transported to Portneuf Medical Center for minor injuries.

9. Mar 13, 2018Flood$65,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain added to snow melt to cause extensive sheet flooding in the Bancroft and Chesterfield areas with extensive damage to back roads which became unpassable. Damage estimates in the county rose above 60 thousand dollars.

10. Feb 26, 2023Winter Storm, Caribou Range$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Heavy snow and wind gusts of 40 to 60 mph closed US Highway 26 from Ririe to the Wyoming border. The LDS Church in Swan Valley was set up to house stranded motorists until the road was reopened. Snowfall amounts were 6 inches at the Swan Valley COOP site with SNOTEL estimates of 15 inches at Giveout, 23 inches at Slug Creek Divide, and 13 inches at Somsen Ranch. A police car was destroyed near Antelope Creek Road on US 26 by a snowplow with multiple accidents and slide offs prior to the closing of the road.

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

103°F3 times, most recently Jul 24, 2007

All-time low

−40°F2 times, most recently Dec 22, 1990

Warmest night

75°F2 times, most recently Jul 18, 1912

Coldest day

−8°FFeb 9, 1933

Wettest day

2.80 inApr 20, 1911

Snowiest day

14.0 in2 times, most recently Dec 24, 1955

Hottest year

1907mean 47.7°F

Coldest year

1944mean 39.9°F

Wettest year

198324.88 in

Driest year

20078.36 in

Station Grace (USC00103732), 5,528 ft elevation, 7.9 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1907 to July 8, 2026; 95.1% 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.

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 USC00103732.
• 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.