Liberty County

Population 1,957 (2025) 1,430 sq mi

Liberty County has recorded 4 tornadoes since 1950, 30th most of 56 counties in Montana; the most recent was on June 2, 1999.

Hazard fingerprint for Liberty County Tornado: 7th percentile. Tropical: 0th percentile. Wildfire: 0th percentile. Flood: 2th percentile. Hail & wind: 24th percentile. Heat: 0th percentile. Cold: 71th percentile. Winter: 24th percentile. TORTROPFIREFLOODSEVEREHEATCOLDWINTER

Hazard fingerprint Each spoke is this county’s percentile among U.S. counties where that hazard occurs. How it is computed

2026
  • Tornado damage paths since 19504

At a glance

The record for Liberty County in eight numbers. Each links to its section below.

Tornadoes since 1950

4

30th of 56 in Montana

Fewer than the typical Montana county, which has had 6

Details

Flood insurance claims

4

41st of 56 in Montana

$7,075 paid since 1996

Details

Strongest tornado

F1

May 25, 1980, 0.1 mile path

Federal disaster declarations

10

Most recent: Covid-19 Pandemic, 2020

Details

Record high

105°F

August 5, 1961

Details

Record low

−57°F

January 25, 1950

Details

Snowiest season

81.0in

Winter of 2008-09

Costliest event since 1996

$50K

Flood, April 7, 2023

Details

Tornadoes

About one every 19 years since 1950, none rated F3/EF3 or stronger.

Strongest

May 25, 1980

F1, 0.1 mile path

10 yards wide.

Most recent

Wednesday, June 2, 1999

F0, 0.1 mile path

27 years ago.

Tornadoes by decade Doppler radar era² 1950s: 0 1960s: 0 1970s: 1 1 1980s: 1 1 1990s: 2 2 2000s: 0 2010s: 0 2020s: 0 1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
Recorded tornadoes per decade. The 2020s are incomplete.
Tornadoes by month J: 0 F: 0 M: 0 A: 0 M: 2 2 J: 2 J: 0 A: 0 S: 0 O: 0 N: 0 D: 0 JFMAMJJASOND
By month of occurrence, all years.

Every recorded tornado

Tornadoes in Liberty County since 1950
Jun 2, 1999F00.11000
Jun 27, 1996F00.21000
May 25, 1980F10.11000
May 24, 1977F10.11000
  1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Liberty 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.

Hurricanes and tropical storms

No tropical storm or hurricane has tracked within 100 miles since records began in 1851.

Wildfire and smoke

No large wildfire has been mapped here since satellite mapping began in 1984.

Smoke overhead

Smokiest year

2023: 54 days

Heavy smoke on 32 days in 2021, the most of any year.

Last 10 years

29.5 days a year

Medium or heavy smoke, 2016 to 2025.

2025

27 days

Medium or heavy smoke. 42 so far in 2026.

Days with medium or heavy smoke overhead, by year 2011: 6 2012: 16 2013: 14 2014: 19 2015: 29 2016: 2 2017: 31 2018: 33 2019: 12 2020: 22 2021: 51 2022: 17 2023: 54 54 2024: 46 2025: 27 201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Days each year on which a satellite-traced plume of medium or heavy smoke covered the county’s population centre, 2011 to 2025.
  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.

Floods and flood insurance

4 federal flood insurance claims since 1996, with $7,075 paid.

Federal flood insurance claims by year
Claims per year since 1996. Years with fewer than five claims are not shown.

Flood events since 1996

  • Flood2
  • Heavy Rain1

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.

Drought

In severe drought or worse for 136 of 1,581 months since 1895 (9%); the longest spell lasted 23 months.

136

Months in severe drought or worse since 1895

47

Months in extreme drought

9%

Share of all months, severe or worse

Lowest reading

August 1988

−6.00, extreme drought

Longest severe spell

23 months

June 2000 to April 2002.

Latest month

September 2026

+2.13, moderately wet

Last severe month: May 2005.

Months in severe drought or worse, by year 1895: 0 1896: 0 1897: 0 1898: 0 1899: 0 1900: 0 1901: 0 1902: 0 1903: 0 1904: 6 1905: 8 1906: 0 1907: 0 1908: 0 1909: 0 1910: 8 1911: 0 1912: 0 1913: 0 1914: 0 1915: 0 1916: 0 1917: 0 1918: 1 1919: 4 1920: 0 1921: 0 1922: 0 1923: 0 1924: 0 1925: 0 1926: 0 1927: 0 1928: 0 1929: 0 1930: 0 1931: 0 1932: 0 1933: 0 1934: 0 1935: 0 1936: 4 1937: 0 1938: 0 1939: 0 1940: 0 1941: 0 1942: 0 1943: 0 1944: 3 1945: 0 1946: 0 1947: 0 1948: 0 1949: 7 1950: 3 1951: 0 1952: 0 1953: 0 1954: 0 1955: 0 1956: 0 1957: 0 1958: 0 1959: 0 1960: 0 1961: 7 1962: 10 1963: 9 1964: 2 1965: 0 1966: 0 1967: 0 1968: 0 1969: 5 1970: 0 1971: 0 1972: 0 1973: 7 1974: 2 1975: 0 1976: 0 1977: 2 1978: 0 1979: 0 1980: 0 1981: 0 1982: 0 1983: 0 1984: 3 1985: 2 1986: 0 1987: 0 1988: 4 1989: 0 1990: 0 1991: 0 1992: 2 1993: 0 1994: 4 1995: 2 1996: 0 1997: 0 1998: 3 1999: 0 2000: 7 2001: 12 12 2002: 4 2003: 2 2004: 2 2005: 1 2006: 0 2007: 0 2008: 0 2009: 0 2010: 0 2011: 0 2012: 0 2013: 0 2014: 0 2015: 0 2016: 0 2017: 0 2018: 0 2019: 0 2020: 0 2021: 0 2022: 0 2023: 0 2024: 0 2025: 0 18951905191519251935194519551965197519851995200520152025
Months each year with a Palmer index of −3 or lower, 1895 to 2025. Twelve means the whole year.
  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.

Earthquakes

1 earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles since 1900; the largest was magnitude 4.2 in 2026.

0

Magnitude 2.5+ inside the county since 1973

14

Magnitude 3+ within 50 miles since 1973

1

Magnitude 4+ within 50 miles since 1900

0

Magnitude 5+ within 50 miles since 1900

Largest within 50 miles

January 29, 2026

Magnitude 4.2

9 km N of Black Eagle, Montana; 36.7 miles away, 14.6 miles deep.

Most recent, magnitude 3 or more

September 18, 2026

Magnitude 3.7

7 km NNW of Black Eagle, Montana; 38.2 miles away.

Earthquakes of magnitude 3 or more within 50 miles, by year 1973: 0 1974: 0 1975: 0 1976: 0 1977: 0 1978: 1 1 1979: 1 1980: 0 1981: 0 1982: 0 1983: 1 1984: 0 1985: 0 1986: 0 1987: 0 1988: 0 1989: 0 1990: 0 1991: 1 1992: 0 1993: 1 1994: 1 1995: 0 1996: 0 1997: 0 1998: 0 1999: 0 2000: 0 2001: 0 2002: 1 2003: 1 2004: 0 2005: 0 2006: 0 2007: 0 2008: 0 2009: 1 2010: 0 2011: 0 2012: 0 2013: 0 2014: 1 2015: 0 2016: 0 2017: 0 2018: 0 2019: 0 2020: 0 2021: 0 2022: 0 2023: 0 2024: 0 2025: 0 19731978198319881993199820032008201320182023
Per year, 1973 to 2025.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

Earthquakes of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles
Jan 29, 20264.236.714.69 km N of Black Eagle, Montana
  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.

Severe weather and other events

432 events in the National Weather Service record, 409 of them since 1996.

35

Hail reports, 1 inch or larger

4

Hail, 2 inches or larger

84

Damaging gusts, 58 mph+

35

Winter weather events since 1996

0

Heat events since 1996

21

Cold events since 1996

Largest hail

August 10, 1957

3.00 inches

Strongest measured or estimated gust

June 17, 2005

86 mph

More event types since 1996

Other Storm Events types since 1996
Lightning100Apr 11, 2003
Avalanches100Feb 13, 2021

Costliest events since 1996

  1. Apr 7, 2023Flood$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Roads north of Lothair become flooded from snowmelt. Liberty Co law enforcement closed several sections of several roads across the county.

  2. Aug 7, 1999Thunderstorm Wind$2,000
  3. Jun 8, 2000Hail$1,000
  4. Sep 1, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$1,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A severe thunderstorm dropped .75 inch diameter hail and produced a wind gust to 60 mph at Chester 33N. The strong winds damaged several power poles, shearing them off 10 feet above the ground.

  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.

Weather records

From Chester, 2.1 miles from the county’s population centre, with records from 1900.

All-time high
105°FAug 5, 1961
All-time low
−57°FJan 25, 1950
Warmest night
75°FMay 25, 1919
Coldest day
−32°FDec 29, 1968
Wettest day
3.10 inJul 13, 1970
Snowiest day
18.0 inOct 3, 2017
Hottest year
1987mean 46.0°F
Coldest year
1911mean 38.1°F
Wettest year
201019.22 in
Driest year
20004.65 in
Snowiest season
81.0 in2008-09
Average monthly high and low temperature and precipitation, last 30 years, Chester 32°F 30° 5° 0.6 Jan 34° 8° 0.5 Feb 45° 18° 0.6 Mar 57° 28° 1.1 Apr 66° 39° 1.8 May 74° 47° 2.4 Jun 84° 53° 1.0 Jul 83° 51° 1.2 Aug 73° 42° 1.1 Sep 59° 29° 0.8 Oct 43° 17° 0.7 Nov 33° 7° 0.6 Dec Precipitation, inches
Average daily high and low by month, and average monthly precipitation, over the last 30 years.
Nights at or below freezing per year 1976: 194 1977: 201 1978: 181 1979: 194 1980: 178 1981: 191 1982: 213 1983: 202 1984: 190 1985: 194 1986: 193 1987: 191 1988: 187 1990: 203 1991: 188 1993: 199 1994: 188 1995: 198 1996: 198 1997: 200 1998: 193 1999: 194 2000: 182 2001: 192 2002: 217 217 2003: 191 2004: 189 2007: 185 2008: 204 2009: 212 2010: 191 2011: 196 2012: 193 2013: 203 2014: 198 2015: 186 2021: 204 2022: 196 2023: 174 2024: 176 2025: 189 19761986199820102025
Nights at or below freezing each complete year, last 50 years. Thirty-year average: 194.0.
Snowfall by winter 1990: 0.0 in 1991: 3.0 in 1997: 0.0 in 1998: 24.7 in 1999: 13.8 in 2000: 8.1 in 2001: 13.7 in 2002: 16.9 in 2003: 24.3 in 2004: 16.3 in 2006: 42.9 in 2007: 32.9 in 2008: 81.0 in 81.0 2009: 48.8 in 2010: 68.4 in 2011: 28.1 in 2012: 38.2 in 2013: 50.4 in 2014: 27.0 in 2020: 45.4 in 2021: 39.4 in 2022: 46.4 in 2023: 42.2 in 2024: 39.5 in 2025: 42.0 in 199020062021
Total snowfall each winter (July to June), last 50 winters.

Median first snow

November 9

Earliest: September 22, 1945

Median last snow

April 15

Latest: May 22, 2002

2 of 36 winters had no measurable snow.

Station Chester (USC00241692), 3,132 ft elevation, 2.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1900 to October 26, 2026; 92.0% 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.

Federal disaster declarations

10 since 1953. The most recent: Covid-19 Pandemic, March 31, 2020.

Federal disaster declarations
Mar 31, 2020BiologicalCovid-19 PandemicMajor disasterDR-4508-MT
Mar 13, 2020BiologicalCovid-19EmergencyEM-3476-MT
Aug 30, 2018FloodFloodingMajor disasterDR-4388-MT
May 24, 2016Severe StormSevere Winter Storm and Straight-Line WindsMajor disasterDR-4271-MT
Jun 17, 2011Severe StormSevere Storms and FloodingMajor disasterDR-1996-MT
Sep 13, 2005HurricaneHurricane Katrina EvacuationEmergencyEM-3253-MT
Jul 3, 2002Severe StormSevere Storms and FloodingMajor disasterDR-1424-MT
Aug 30, 2000FireWildfiresMajor disasterDR-1340-MT
May 16, 1996Severe StormSevere Storms, Flooding, Ice Jams, Soil SaturationMajor disasterDR-1113-MT
Mar 15, 1986FloodHeavy Rains, Landslides & FloodingMajor disasterDR-761-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 Liberty County stands among 56 counties in Montana and 3,143 in the United States.

Ranks
Tornadoes since 1950430 / 562,697 / 3,143
Tornadoes rated F3/EF3 or stronger0——
Tropical cyclones within 50 mi0——
Hurricane-strength passes within 50 mi0——
Wildfire acres since 19840——
Flood insurance claims441 / 562,607 / 3,143
Flood insurance paid$7,07540 / 562,742 / 3,143
Disaster declarations1027 / 562,788 / 3,143
Flood events since 1996356 / 563,081 / 3,143
Hail and wind events since 199634731 / 56952 / 3,143
Winter storm events since 19963556 / 562,328 / 3,143
Reported damage since 1996$54,00051 / 563,108 / 3,143
River crests at major flood stage0——
High tide flooding days a year, last 10 years0.0——
Months in severe drought since 189513633 / 561,287 / 3,143
Medium or heavy smoke days a year, last 10 years29.524 / 56238 / 3,143
Earthquakes M4+ within 50 mi since 1900137 / 561,397 / 3,143
Earthquakes M2.5+ in the county since 19730——

Neighbouring counties

Neighbouring counties
Chouteau County17032,3970
Hill County7039,64317
Pondera County0075,6560
Toole County7001

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 USC00241692.
  • 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.
  • 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.