Shoshone County
Population 14,130 (2025) 2,637 sq mi
Large wildfires have burned 90,454 acres of Shoshone County since 1984, 30th most of 44 counties in Idaho; the largest was the Deceitful Fire in 2021.
Hazard fingerprint Each spoke is this county’s percentile among U.S. counties where that hazard occurs. How it is computed
- Tornado damage paths since 19501
- Wildfire burn scars since 198424
- Major flood years since 19781
At a glance
The record for Shoshone County in eight numbers. Each links to its section below.
Tornadoes
About one every 76 years since 1950, none rated F3/EF3 or stronger.
Strongest
June 5, 1987
F0, 0.1 mile path
10 yards wide.
Most recent
Friday, June 5, 1987
F0, 0.1 mile path
39 years ago.
Every recorded tornado
| Jun 5, 1987 | F0 | 0.1 | 3 | 0 |
- Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Shoshone County: 0.
- 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
90,454 acres burned in 24 large fires since 1984, equal to 5.4% of the land.
Largest
July 8, 2021
Deceitful Fire, 12,748 acres
12,756 acres inside Shoshone County.
Most recent
September 1, 2022
Caledonia Fire
1,451 acres in total.
Every large fire
| Caledonia | 2022 | 1,451 | 1,451 |
| Columbus | 2022 | 2,185 | 2,573 |
| Stateline Complex | 2021 | 1,958 | 1,958 |
| Deceitful | 2021 | 12,756 | 12,748 |
| Tumbledown | 2021 | 11,266 | 11,258 |
| Prichard | 2021 | 1,365 | 1,366 |
| Devils Pulpit | 2021 | 3,185 | 3,185 |
| Scott | 2021 | 1,298 | 2,135 |
| Rampike | 2018 | 3,221 | 3,684 |
| Surprise Creek | 2018 | 2,280 | 3,743 |
| Buck | 2017 | 2,120 | 2,120 |
| Breezy | 2015 | 1,388 | 1,389 |
| Whitetail | 2015 | 2,013 | 2,022 |
| South Bobtail | 2015 | 11,126 | 11,252 |
| Chicadee | 2015 | 5,766 | 5,764 |
| Lower Flat | 2015 | 9,034 | 9,023 |
| Heather | 2015 | 2,169 | 2,363 |
| North Grizzly | 2015 | 5,286 | 5,284 |
| Marble Creek | 2015 | 2,958 | 2,956 |
| Isabella Complex | 2012 | 31 | 4,475 |
| Larkins Complex | 2010 | 1,864 | 1,909 |
| Nugget | 2009 | 1,144 | 1,141 |
| Ulm Peak | 2006 | 3,281 | 4,606 |
| Mary Mix Ii | 1986 | 1,299 | 1,297 |
- 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: 51 days
Heavy smoke on 33 days in 2021, the most of any year.
Last 10 years
28.0 days a year
Medium or heavy smoke, 2016 to 2025.
2025
17 days
Medium or heavy smoke. 41 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
108 federal flood insurance claims since 1980, with $926,000 paid.
Most claims in one year
1996: 36 claims
$637,000 paid.
2nd most
1982: 14 claims
$20,000 paid.
3rd most
1980: 9 claims
$47,000 paid.
Claims by ZIP code
| 83839 | 46 | $499,000 |
| 83873 | 18 | $119,000 |
| 83837 | 16 | $64,000 |
| 83810 | 7 | $139,000 |
| 83850 | 6 | $32,000 |
Flood events since 1996
- Flood34
- 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
Most severe crest
January 16, 1974
Coeur d'Alene River at Cataldo, 58.23 ft
15.23 feet above the 43.0 ft flood stage; major flooding by today’s categories.
Most recent moderate or major crest
December 12, 2025
Coeur d'Alene River at Cataldo, 46.38 ft
Moderate flooding.
River gauges
| Coeur d'Alene River at Cataldo | 43.0 | 58.23 ft | 4 |
| Coeur d'Alene River at Enaville | 72.0 | 81.32 ft | 5 |
| St Joe River at Calder | 13.0 | 18.20 ft | 4 |
- 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 132 of 1,581 months since 1895 (8%); the longest spell lasted 9 months.
132
Months in severe drought or worse since 1895
16
Months in extreme drought
8%
Share of all months, severe or worse
Lowest reading
April 1941
−4.92, extreme drought
Longest severe spell
9 months
May 1931 to January 1932.
Latest month
September 2026
−2.16, moderate drought
Last severe month: November 2025.
- 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 and landslides
5 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles since 1900; the largest was magnitude 4.7 in 1998.
35
Magnitude 2.5+ inside the county since 1973
54
Magnitude 3+ within 50 miles since 1973
5
Magnitude 4+ within 50 miles since 1900
0
Magnitude 5+ within 50 miles since 1900
Largest within 50 miles
December 21, 1998
Magnitude 4.7
Idaho-Montana border region; 31.6 miles away, 7.6 miles deep.
Most recent, magnitude 3 or more
February 10, 2025
Magnitude 3.3
2 km NNW of Mullan, Idaho; inside the county.
Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles
| Dec 21, 1998 | 4.7 | 31.6 |
| Jan 20, 1998 | 4.0 | 35.9 |
| Aug 16, 1994 | 4.1 | Inside |
| Aug 1, 1988 | 4.1 | 3.5 |
| Jan 16, 1975 | 4.4 | 43.9 |
- 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).
- 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
34
Landslides mapped, probable or better
2
With a recorded date
3
Source inventories
Mapped by ID GS (28), USGS Conterminous (4), NASA (2).
- 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
543 events in the National Weather Service record, 525 of them since 1996.
10
Hail reports, 1 inch or larger
1
Hail, 2 inches or larger
18
Damaging gusts, 58 mph+
365
Winter weather events since 1996
1
Heat events since 1996
3
Cold events since 1996
Largest hail
May 27, 1993
2.75 inches
Strongest measured or estimated gust
August 12, 1989
75 mph
More event types since 1996
| Lightning | 2 | 0 |
| Dense fog and smoke | 1 | 0 |
| Debris flows | 6 | 0 |
| Avalanches | 4 | 4 |
Costliest events since 1996
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Jan 16, 2011Flood$1.0 million
National Weather Service narrative
Flooding was reported on the Coeur D'Alene River along Coeur D'Alene River Road into Enaville and downstream to the border of Kootenai County near Cataldo. Coeur D'Alene River Road was closed between mile post 2 and 19 due to flooding of three to four feet of water over portions of the roadway. Other reports of flooding occurred at the north end of Montgomery Gulch and Moon Gulch. Moon Gulch road was washed out crossing Beaver Creek trapping an individual on his property, multiple motor vehicles and homes flooded, and landslides were also reported. The Coeur D'Alene River at Cataldo went above its flood stage of 43 feet at 2330PST on the 16th; crested at 45.94 feet at 2345PST on…
- 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.
- 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 Kellogg, 2.3 miles from the county’s population centre, with records from 1905.
- All-time high
- 111°FAug 5, 1961
- All-time low
- −36°FDec 30, 1968
- Warmest night
- 74°F2 times, most recently Jun 29, 2015
- Coldest day
- −6°FDec 30, 1968
- Wettest day
- 4.00 inDec 9, 1987
- Snowiest day
- 18.0 inDec 27, 1937
- Hottest year
- 1934mean 50.9°F
- Coldest year
- 1916mean 43.0°F
- Wettest year
- 201245.17 in
- Driest year
- 195219.08 in
- Snowiest season
- 139.7 in1949-50
Median first snow
November 18
Earliest: October 8, 1905
Median last snow
March 24
Latest: May 5, 1961
0 of 99 winters had no measurable snow.
Station Kellogg (USC00104831), 2,305 ft elevation, 2.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1905 to October 26, 2026; 94.2% 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.
Federal disaster declarations
16 since 1953. The most recent: Straight-Line Winds, April 7, 2026.
| Apr 7, 2026 | Straight-Line Winds | DR-4905-ID |
| Jun 10, 2024 | Flood | DR-4789-ID |
| Mar 4, 2021 | Severe Storm | DR-4589-ID |
| Apr 9, 2020 | Biological | DR-4534-ID |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | EM-3467-ID |
| May 18, 2017 | Flood | DR-4313-ID |
| May 20, 2011 | Flood | DR-1987-ID |
| Jul 31, 2008 | Flood | DR-1781-ID |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Hurricane | EM-3244-ID |
| Jun 13, 1997 | Severe Storm | DR-1177-ID |
| Jan 4, 1997 | Severe Storm | DR-1154-ID |
| Feb 11, 1996 | Severe Storm | DR-1102-ID |
| May 22, 1980 | Volcanic Eruption | DR-624-ID |
| Jan 25, 1974 | Flood | DR-415-ID |
| Aug 30, 1967 | Fire | DR-231-ID |
| Dec 31, 1964 | Flood | DR-186-ID |
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.
How this compares
Where Shoshone County stands among 44 counties in Idaho and 3,143 in the United States.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 1 | 37 / 44 |
| Tornadoes rated F3/EF3 or stronger | 0 | — |
| Tropical cyclones within 50 mi | 0 | — |
| Hurricane-strength passes within 50 mi | 0 | — |
| Wildfire acres since 1984 | 90,455 | 30 / 44 |
| Flood insurance claims | 108 | 3 / 44 |
| Flood insurance paid | $926,000 | 3 / 44 |
| Disaster declarations | 16 | 4 / 44 |
| Flood events since 1996 | 37 | 10 / 44 |
| Hail and wind events since 1996 | 59 | 34 / 44 |
| Winter storm events since 1996 | 365 | 8 / 44 |
| Reported damage since 1996 | $69.0 million | 11 / 44 |
| River crests at major flood stage | 13 | 1 / 44 |
| High tide flooding days a year, last 10 years | 0.0 | — |
| Months in severe drought since 1895 | 132 | 40 / 44 |
| Medium or heavy smoke days a year, last 10 years | 28.0 | 5 / 44 |
| Earthquakes M4+ within 50 mi since 1900 | 5 | 31 / 44 |
| Earthquakes M2.5+ in the county since 1973 | 35 | 8 / 44 |
Neighbouring counties
| Benewah County | 0 | 0 |
| Bonner County | 4 | 0 |
| Clearwater County | 1 | 0 |
| Kootenai County | 2 | 0 |
| Latah County | 4 | 0 |
| Mineral County MT | 0 | 0 |
| Sanders County MT | 1 | 0 |
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 USC00104831.
- 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.