Glacier County
Population 13,463 (2025) 2,995 sq mi
Large wildfires have burned 123,689 acres of Glacier County since 1984, 26th most of 56 counties in Montana; the largest was the Red Eagle Fire in 2006.
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 19503
- Wildfire burn scars since 198420
At a glance
The record for Glacier County in eight numbers. Each links to its section below.
Acres burned since 1984
123,689
26th of 56 in Montana
20 large fires; the largest was Red Eagle, 2006
DetailsTornadoes since 1950
3
35th of 56 in Montana
Fewer than the typical Montana county, which has had 6
DetailsStrongest tornado
F1
June 13, 2006, 10.0 mile path
Federal disaster declarations
12
Most recent: Severe Winter Storm and Straight-Line Winds, 2026
DetailsTornadoes
About one every 25 years since 1950, none rated F3/EF3 or stronger.
Strongest
June 13, 2006
F1, 10.0 mile path
100 yards wide.
Most recent
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
F1, 10.0 mile path
20 years ago.
Every recorded tornado
| Jun 13, 2006 | F1 | 10.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 6, 1994 | F1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 1, 1977 | F1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
- Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Glacier 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
123,689 acres burned in 20 large fires since 1984, equal to 6.5% of the land.
Largest
July 28, 2006
Red Eagle Fire, 32,560 acres
32,563 acres inside Glacier County.
Most recent
March 28, 2021
Greenhouse Fire
14,495 acres in total.
Every large fire
| Greenhouse | 2021 | 14,500 | 14,495 |
| Boundary | 2018 | 2,082 | 2,863 |
| Wolverine | 2017 | 3,126 | 3,122 |
| Family Peak Complex | 2015 | 2,367 | 49,762 |
| Thompson | 2015 | 29 | 18,049 |
| Reynolds | 2015 | 4,789 | 4,791 |
| Wye Fire | 2012 | 6,141 | 6,139 |
| Boy | 2012 | 5,706 | 5,702 |
| Skyland | 2007 | 25,043 | 41,230 |
| Mission Lake Fire | 2006 | 1,099 | 1,101 |
| Red Eagle | 2006 | 32,563 | 32,560 |
| Poll Haven | 2003 | 32 | 4,494 |
| Pardue | 2003 | 4,268 | 4,262 |
| Fox Creek | 2002 | 5,948 | 5,948 |
| Kootenai Complex (Mcdonald) | 1998 | 1,093 | 8,063 |
| Sharpsfire | 1996 | 4,461 | 4,459 |
| Livermore | 1994 | 1,935 | 1,935 |
| Walbergers | 1994 | 1,732 | 1,730 |
| Rdoorecmpx | 1992 | 3,087 | 3,083 |
| Napi Peak | 1984 | 3,679 | 3,678 |
- 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
2023: 52 days
Heavy smoke on 29 days in 2021, the most of any year.
Last 10 years
28.6 days a year
Medium or heavy smoke, 2016 to 2025.
2025
21 days
Medium or heavy smoke. 42 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
8 federal flood insurance claims since 1978, with $32,000 paid.
Claims by ZIP code
| 59417 | 5 | $32,000 |
Flood events since 1996
- Heavy Rain32
- Flood8
- Flash Flood2
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
June 21, 1975
Saint Mary River at International boundary, 13.46 ft
5.96 feet above the 7.5 ft flood stage; major flooding by today’s categories.
Most recent moderate or major crest
May 28, 2019
Saint Mary River at International boundary, 12.02 ft
Major flooding.
River gauges
| Badger Creek below Four Horns Canal near Browning | 7.0 | 13.58 ft | 0 |
| Saint Mary River at International boundary | 7.5 | 13.46 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 199 of 1,581 months since 1895 (13%); the longest spell lasted 35 months.
199
Months in severe drought or worse since 1895
83
Months in extreme drought
13%
Share of all months, severe or worse
Lowest reading
March 2001
−6.12, extreme drought
Longest severe spell
35 months
January 2023 to November 2025.
Latest month
September 2026
+0.87, incipient wet spell
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
12 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles since 1900; the largest was magnitude 5.5 in 1952.
18
Magnitude 2.5+ inside the county since 1973
93
Magnitude 3+ within 50 miles since 1973
12
Magnitude 4+ within 50 miles since 1900
1
Magnitude 5+ within 50 miles since 1900
Most recent, magnitude 3 or more
March 14, 2024
Magnitude 3.0
17 km SSE of Swan Lake, Montana; 40.7 miles away.
Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles
| Mar 3, 2000 | 4.6 | 11.9 |
| Apr 14, 1998 | 4.1 | 27.8 |
| Jun 29, 1995 | 4.1 | 46.7 |
| May 2, 1995 | 4.1 | 46.7 |
| Apr 1, 1992 | 4.0 | 34.3 |
| Feb 11, 1984 | 4.5 | 20.3 |
| Oct 20, 1975 | 4.3 | 37.3 |
| Feb 3, 1975 | 4.6 | 32.3 |
| Jan 31, 1975 | 4.1 | 35.3 |
| Nov 6, 1969 | 4.3 | 48.3 |
| Sep 14, 1969 | 4.3 | 48.3 |
| Mar 31, 1952 | 5.5 | 29.9 |
- 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
3
Landslides mapped, probable or better
0
With a recorded date
1
Source inventory
Mapped by USGS Conterminous (3).
- 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
970 events in the National Weather Service record, 950 of them since 1996.
66
Hail reports, 1 inch or larger
0
Hail, 2 inches or larger
49
Damaging gusts, 58 mph+
103
Winter weather events since 1996
0
Heat events since 1996
39
Cold events since 1996
Largest hail
July 28, 1992
1.75 inches
Strongest measured or estimated gust
July 18, 2022
81 mph
More event types since 1996
| Lightning | 1 | 0 |
| Dense fog and smoke | 3 | 0 |
| Debris flows | 1 | 0 |
Costliest events since 1996
- Jun 8, 2023Debris Flow$50,000
National Weather Service narrative
Glacier National Park reported that portions of Montana Highway 49 and the Looking Glass Highway were closed due to debris flows from heavy rain.
- Mar 19, 2026High Wind, East Glacier Park Region$3,000
National Weather Service narrative
Ambient Weather Station Howards Lodge measured a 75 mph wind gust. It was reported on social media of multiple trees blow down in East Glacier. Winds were gusting anywhere between 70 and 91 mph between 3:30am and 12:45pm MST. Montana Highway 49, Looking Glass Road, was closed between MP 0.0 and 4.0 due to multiple fallen trees that are blocking all lanes for some time.
- 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 Cut Bank Airport, 19.5 miles from the county’s population centre, with records from 1903.
- All-time high
- 107°FAug 5, 1961
- All-time low
- −47°FFeb 15, 1936
- Warmest night
- 70°F2 times, most recently Jul 16, 1935
- Coldest day
- −32°FJan 21, 1943
- Wettest day
- 2.80 inJun 7, 1924
- Snowiest day
- 18.0 inDec 15, 1924
- Hottest year
- 1939mean 45.3°F
- Coldest year
- 1951mean 36.4°F
- Wettest year
- 197523.34 in
- Driest year
- 20063.96 in
Station Cut Bank Airport (USW00024137), 3,845 ft elevation, 19.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1903 to October 26, 2026; 99.3% 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
12 since 1953. The most recent: Severe Winter Storm and Straight-Line Winds, April 7, 2026.
| Apr 7, 2026 | Straight-Line Winds | DR-4902-MT |
| Mar 31, 2020 | Biological | DR-4508-MT |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | EM-3476-MT |
| May 24, 2016 | Severe Storm | DR-4271-MT |
| Jun 17, 2011 | Severe Storm | DR-1996-MT |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Hurricane | EM-3253-MT |
| Jul 3, 2002 | Severe Storm | DR-1424-MT |
| Aug 30, 2000 | Fire | DR-1340-MT |
| Mar 15, 1986 | Flood | DR-761-MT |
| Aug 22, 1977 | Drought | EM-3050-MT |
| Jun 28, 1975 | Flood | DR-472-MT |
| Jan 29, 1974 | Flood | DR-417-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.
How this compares
Where Glacier County stands among 56 counties in Montana and 3,143 in the United States.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 3 | 35 / 56 |
| Tornadoes rated F3/EF3 or stronger | 0 | — |
| Tropical cyclones within 50 mi | 0 | — |
| Hurricane-strength passes within 50 mi | 0 | — |
| Wildfire acres since 1984 | 123,689 | 26 / 56 |
| Flood insurance claims | 8 | 30 / 56 |
| Flood insurance paid | $32,000 | 30 / 56 |
| Disaster declarations | 12 | 19 / 56 |
| Flood events since 1996 | 42 | 11 / 56 |
| Hail and wind events since 1996 | 756 | 5 / 56 |
| Winter storm events since 1996 | 103 | 33 / 56 |
| Reported damage since 1996 | $53,000 | 52 / 56 |
| River crests at major flood stage | 4 | 9 / 56 |
| High tide flooding days a year, last 10 years | 0.0 | — |
| Months in severe drought since 1895 | 199 | 14 / 56 |
| Medium or heavy smoke days a year, last 10 years | 28.6 | 33 / 56 |
| Earthquakes M4+ within 50 mi since 1900 | 12 | 23 / 56 |
| Earthquakes M2.5+ in the county since 1973 | 18 | 11 / 56 |
Neighbouring counties
| Flathead County | 4 | 0 |
| Pondera County | 0 | 0 |
| Toole County | 7 | 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 USW00024137.
- 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.