Mineral 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.

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 NASA (1).

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$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain in the mountains caused flooding and significant erosion of forest service roads in western Mineral County. In the Superior Ranger District, the Deer Creek Bridge was compromised as the St. Regis River eroded the north bank, severely damaging the surrounding roadbed. Further west, reports from the Ward Creek drainage (National Forest Service Road 889) confirmed a complete washout, forcing the closure of a 7-mile stretch from Milepost 4.5 to 11.9. A hunter driving out of the mountains along Big Creek reported driving through feet of water at times and encountering falling trees that blocked the road. A plugged pipe at Milepost 1.5 up the East Fork of Big Creek caused the…

2. Feb 7, 1996Flood, Lower Clark Fork Region$700,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Warmer temperatures, after an extended cold and snowy period, caused numerous flooding problems across central Montana during the second week of February. Snowmelt over frozen ground caused streams and rivers to go out of their banks, washing out roads and bridges. Flooding problems ranged from minor inundation of fields to portions of towns being under water. Ice jams also caused flooding problems as snowmelt ran into frozen streams and rivers. Some of the worst flooding occurred in East Helena where 3 creeks went out of their banks, damaging over 150 homes. Ice jams on the Missouri river caused flooding in Fort Benton. Much of the town was under 1 to 2 feet of water at one…

3. Jul 13, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$360,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong thunderstorm winds gusting between 58 to 65 mph caused wind damage in northwest Montana during the evening hours. Most significant damage was on the west end of St. Regis in Mineral County, where numerous large pine trees fell down causing damage of $360,000. Fallen trees damaged a camper and 12 homes on Camels Hump Road. Twelve separate fires were started in Mineral County as trees fell onto power lines and roadways. Highway I-90 was temporarily closed due to fallen trees. A search and rescue worker was injured on I-90, when she was struck in the head by a four-inch diameter falling cottonwood branch. Wind damage was reported near Plains in Sanders County, where strong…

4. Dec 17, 2025High Wind, Lower Clark Fork Region$120,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Extreme gusts battered Sanders and Mineral Counties on December 17, with peak wind reports including 69 mph at 0800MST at the Plains AWOS and 57 mph at the Thompson Falls RAWS. The dangerous conditions prompted an urgent Do Not Travel alert from the Community Ambulance Service of Western Sanders County at 0830MST because live power lines and falling trees completely blocked roadways. Major transportation corridors were heavily impacted: a downed tree blocked a lane of I-90 Westbound at 0725MST, fallen trees blocked the Eastbound I-90 Tarkio exit at 0845MST, a semi-truck crash completely blocked MT-200 at 0940MST, and downed power lines forced the closure of Highway 10 West near…

5. Feb 22, 2012High Wind, Lower Clark Fork Region$114,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tree and billboard were blown down in Superior along with some shingle damage to the roof of an elementary school. Nearly 100 trees were reported to be blown down, some with their root balls attached and some snapped in half. Nine structures were damaged from falling trees, along with three homes and three moble homes. According to the fire chief, there were no injuries. The total swath of damage was estimated to be 6 miles long, from Superior east to mile marker 52 on I-90.

6. Dec 16, 2023Freezing Fog, Lower Clark Fork Region$70,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Freezing fog led to ice formation on area roadways. Icy roads were likely a contributing factor to a three vehicle collision on Highway 93 near Evaro. The crash resulted in five injuries and two fatalities.

7. Dec 1, 2023Winter Weather, Lower Clark Fork Region$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Moderate to heavy snowfall occurred, leading to snow covered roads at Lookout Pass. A number of vehicle crashes were reported, while chains were required over the pass for periods of time. Traffic cameras also showed periods of greatly reduced visibility with falling snow.

8. Feb 3, 2017Winter Storm, Lower Clark Fork Region$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe driving conditions were issued at 3:22 pm on Feb. 3 for a 33 mile stretch of I-90 leading up to Lookout Pass. Webcam images showed heavy snow throughout this time period. The Montana Department of Transportation reported at least two snow slides, one of which was at milepost 7, blocking individual lanes during the event. Highway patrol reported semi trucks stuck blocking lanes throughout the event, as well as semi truck accidents.

9. Jan 13, 2021High Wind, Lower Clark Fork Region$40,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Thompson Falls airport observed a peak gust to 58 mph at 10:02 am MST. A trained spotter located 2 miles west-northwest of Belknap observed several 90 year old trees uprooted by the wind. Other reports include: widespread power outages, roof damage in Plains, several buildings damaged in Thompson Falls, 2 ponderosa pine trees down in St. Regis, a fallen tree across a vehicle in De Borgia, a tree down on part of Interstate 90 near mile-marker 22, and multiple large trees across Prospect Road in Thompson Falls.

10. Sep 7, 2020High Wind, Lower Clark Fork Region$40,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Strong wind gusts estimated at 50 to 55 mph caused numerous downed trees from Thompson Falls northwestward to the Idaho border along and adjacent to Highway 200. Power outages were common. At least 2 vehicles were damaged, as was a fifth wheel trailer.

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

92°FAug 7, 1983

All-time low

−32°FFeb 3, 1989

Warmest night

66°FAug 10, 2018

Coldest day

−19°FFeb 3, 1989

Wettest day

4.90 inFeb 23, 1986

Hottest year

2015mean 40.7°F

Coldest year

1996mean 35.6°F

Wettest year

199693.40 in

Driest year

198744.80 in

Station Hoodoo Basin (USS0015C10S), 6,050 ft elevation, 15.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1982 to October 26, 2026; 99.5% 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 USS0015C10S.
• 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.