Lincoln County

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.

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 USGS Conterminous (3), NASA (1).

Deadly landslides

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. Dec 11, 2025Flood$31.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Notable infrastructure losses included the Farm-to-Market Road state bridge over Libby Creek, the Granite Creek county bridge, Ramsey Creek Bridge at milepost 8.9, Old Town/Libby Creek Bridge 8.1 miles up Libby Creek Road(NFS Road Number 231), West Fisher Road bridge over Lake Creek at about the 5.5 milepost, the Lower Granite Creek Bridge at milepost 2.5 on National Forest Service(NFS) Road 4791, Whoopie Creek Bridge(NFS Road 384) near Spar Lake in the Troy District, and Keeler Creek took out the Lake Creek Road county bridge(NFS Road 473) and the county levee in Troy. Additional washouts occurred on Libby Creek Road (NFS Road 231) at mileposts 0.9 and and about 25.0 and along…

2. Jul 21, 1997Thunderstorm Wind$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Microburst from a thunderstorm caused widespread damage. Wind gusts estimated at least 80 mph caused 2 injuries (a broken leg and an injured head) as trees fell on houses and through to people inside. Trees were either snapped off or uprooted, including Willow, Cottonwood, and Spruce trees. Power poles were snapped off 4-5 feet above ground. Almost every street in the town was blocked by fallen trees and marble sized hail also fell. Damage to the public sector included blocked roads, loss of the chlorinator for the city water system and loss of the lift pump for the sewer system, An elementary school had a damaged roof. Loss to the private sector included damaged homes and…

3. Dec 17, 2025High Wind, Kootenai/Cabinet Region$610,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   At 0940 MST, the Lincoln County Sheriff���s Office issued an Emergency Travel Only order as downed trees and power lines rendered major routes���including US-2 and MT-56���impassable. In Libby, a failure of the cellular network created a communications gap for emergency services during the peak of the event.||Property damage was widespread; numerous homes and structures were struck by falling timber, including a home 4 miles NW of Troy and a garage up Pipe Creek. Private losses were notable, including multiple totaled greenhouses and several vehicles crushed by falling Ponderosa pines, such as a late-model truck near the Libby airport and another at Bull Lake.…

4. May 1, 1997Flood, Kootenai/Cabinet Region$543,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Snowmelt flooding caused numerous road closures and road washouts throughout the region. In Flathead County, at least three road washouts were reported and one bridge damaged. At least 50 homes were flooded, mainly along Ashley Creek and the Stillwater, Swan and Whitefish Rivers. 50 people were isolated along Truman Creek, which washed out an access road. In Missoula County, at least four bridges were damaged, including a collapsed bridge on Sun Ray Lane in Lolo. Hardest hit was property along the Clark Fork River, Lolo and Rock Creeks. Several culverts and dikes were damaged. In Sanders County, extensive flooding occurred from Plains to Thompson Falls. One road washout resulted…

5. Jan 13, 2021High Wind, Kootenai/Cabinet Region$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This was a very widespread wind event for northwest Montana. Countless trees were either blown down or snapped in half in many locations, causing numerous road blockages. At least 2 dozen trees were blown over along Bull Lake Road, 10 miles north of Heron. One power company reported that they had 51 broken power poles, and experienced extensive power line and cross arm damage during the event. Winds were gusting up to 80 mph at the Zonolite station which is situated 2,000 feet above the Libby area. Wind gusts between 66 and 70 mph were reported in the valleys in the Idaho Panhandle and based on the fact that trees were down all over Lincoln County, these wind speeds are a good…

6. Nov 15, 2021High Wind, Kootenai/Cabinet Region$105,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Multiple trees were reported down, some damaging power lines, due to high winds along US-2 and US-93. A Facebook dashcam video showed a vehicle hitting a falling tree during the storm. Several thousand citizens were without power for close to 12 hours after the event.

7. Nov 22, 2024Winter Storm, Kootenai/Cabinet Region$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   There were multiple reports of heavy, wet snow and freezing rain causing motor vehicle accidents, broken tree limbs, and downed power lines. The snow primarily fell from Yaak to Olney in this zone, 8-10 inches as of the morning of the 23rd. Rain resulted in Boorman Creek to breach its banks (no damage from flooding was reported). A major power outage was reported in Lincoln County lasting 24 to 36 hours.

8. Apr 18, 2021Strong Wind, Kootenai/Cabinet Region$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong winds behind a fast moving cold front led to several downed trees and numerous power outages in the vicinity of Troy, Bull Lake, and in the Yaak. The Northern Lights COOP reported more than 2400 customers without power from north of Bonners Ferry to the Canadian border and into northwest Montana through Troy, Bull Lake, and the Yaak.

9. Mar 12, 2026High Wind, Kootenai/Cabinet Region$72,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   There were over 1800 people without power from Yaak to Bull Lake. Multiple trees were blocking roads as of 6:54am March 12. There was a downed power line across Highway 56 creating a total road blockage. Trees fell on a garage and house in Libby.|There were 52 power poles down south of Libby.

10. Nov 27, 2019High Wind, Kootenai/Cabinet Region$70,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    There were multiple locations along the western foothills of the Whitefish Range that were impacted by the high winds. At the end of Burma Road, residents estimated at least 5 acres of pine and fir trees were blown down. This caused some roof damage to several homes. A metal roof partially peeled off of a trailer home located due west, across US-93 on Acres Lane. Billboard signs were blown down between Eureka and the Canadian Border. The utility company reported two power poles damaged, and power was out for 20 hours. In the Glen Lake area, five miles east of Eureka, countless trees were strewn all over the roads, especially along Stevens and Therriault roads. At one point,…

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

108°FAug 11, 2018

All-time low

−27°FJan 14, 2024

Warmest night

65°FJul 18, 2024

Coldest day

−7°FJan 14, 2024

Wettest day

1.83 inJun 20, 1995

Snowiest day

10.0 inFeb 13, 2019

Hottest year

2025mean 48.9°F

Coldest year

1996mean 42.7°F

Wettest year

199525.03 in

Driest year

20009.47 in

Snowiest season

55.4 in2007-08

Station Libby Dam (base) (USC00245011), 2,110 ft elevation, 11.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1986 to October 27, 2026; 96.6% 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 USC00245011.
• 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.