Treasure County
Population 728 (2025) 978 sq mi
Large wildfires have burned 47,115 acres of Treasure County since 1984, 39th most of 56 counties in Montana; the largest was the Busman Road Fire in 2022.
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 198412
At a glance
The record for Treasure County in eight numbers. Each links to its section below.
Acres burned since 1984
47,115
39th of 56 in Montana
12 large fires; the largest was Busman Road, 2022
DetailsTornadoes since 1950
3
35th of 56 in Montana
Fewer than the typical Montana county, which has had 6
DetailsStrongest tornado
F1
July 6, 1955, 2.0 mile path
Snowiest season
77.0in
Winter of 1995-96
Tornadoes
About one every 25 years since 1950, none rated F3/EF3 or stronger.
Strongest
July 6, 1955
F1, 2.0 mile path
73 yards wide.
Most recent
Sunday, August 23, 1998
F0, 7.0 mile path
28 years ago.
Every recorded tornado
| Aug 23, 1998 | F0 | 7.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aug 23, 1998 | F0 | 7.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 6, 1955 | F1 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 |
- Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Treasure 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
47,115 acres burned in 12 large fires since 1984, equal to 7.5% of the land.
Largest
August 4, 2022
Busman Road Fire, 12,584 acres
12,583 acres inside Treasure County.
Most recent
August 4, 2022
Busman Road Fire
12,584 acres in total.
Every large fire
| Busman Road | 2022 | 12,583 | 12,584 |
| Gass Flats | 2020 | 6,028 | 10,717 |
| Horse Creek 2 | 2020 | 254 | 1,591 |
| North Fork | 2015 | 482 | 1,280 |
| Horse Creek | 2012 | 7,612 | 7,637 |
| Hutchinson Coulee | 2006 | 1,438 | 1,437 |
| Rosebud Co Assist 1 | 2006 | 3,251 | 3,251 |
| Stark | 2003 | 1,116 | 1,116 |
| Earl | 2003 | 1,508 | 1,506 |
| Jonny | 2003 | 7,689 | 7,701 |
| Stove | 2000 | 1,276 | 1,276 |
| Grierson | 1994 | 3,874 | 7,986 |
- 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: 66 days
Heavy smoke on 42 days in 2021, the most of any year.
Last 10 years
30.7 days a year
Medium or heavy smoke, 2016 to 2025.
2025
23 days
Medium or heavy smoke. 38 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
No federal flood insurance claims are recorded for this county.
Flood events since 1996
- Flood8
- Flash Flood3
- Heavy Rain2
OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.
Drought
In severe drought or worse for 98 of 1,581 months since 1895 (6%); the longest spell lasted 14 months.
98
Months in severe drought or worse since 1895
44
Months in extreme drought
6%
Share of all months, severe or worse
1
Drought reports to the Weather Service since 1996
Lowest reading
August 1961
−6.41, extreme drought
Longest severe spell
14 months
July 1960 to August 1961.
Latest month
September 2026
+2.12, moderately wet
Last severe month: July 2021.
- 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
9 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more within 50 miles since 1987; none reached magnitude 4.
0
Magnitude 2.5+ inside the county since 1973
4
Magnitude 3+ within 50 miles since 1973
0
Magnitude 4+ within 50 miles since 1900
0
Magnitude 5+ within 50 miles since 1900
Largest within 50 miles
October 5, 1987
Magnitude 3.7
18 km ENE of Hardin, Montana; 13.0 miles away, 3.1 miles deep.
Most recent, magnitude 3 or more
July 6, 2021
Magnitude 3.6
27 km SSE of Melstone, Montana; 3.9 miles away.
- 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.
Severe weather and other events
232 events in the National Weather Service record, 217 of them since 1996.
59
Hail reports, 1 inch or larger
10
Hail, 2 inches or larger
47
Damaging gusts, 58 mph+
56
Winter weather events since 1996
0
Heat events since 1996
1
Cold events since 1996
Largest hail
June 28, 2001
2.75 inches
Strongest measured or estimated gust
May 21, 2006
81 mph
Costliest events since 1996
- Aug 23, 1998Tornado$200,000
National Weather Service narrative
Two small tornadoes in Treasure County knocked down several trees, antennas and power poles. One power pole which contained a transformer started some fires after it fell. The tornadoes also damaged some houses and sheds.
- Aug 23, 1998Tornado$100,000
- 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 Hysham, 3 miles from the county’s population centre, with records from 1945.
- All-time high
- 111°FJul 28, 1947
- All-time low
- −48°FJan 20, 1954
- Warmest night
- 75°FJul 4, 2017
- Coldest day
- −20°F3 times, most recently Dec 22, 1989
- Wettest day
- 3.20 inMay 30, 2013
- Snowiest day
- 14.5 inOct 20, 1949
- Hottest year
- 2007mean 51.0°F
- Coldest year
- 1950mean 42.9°F
- Wettest year
- 199321.61 in
- Driest year
- 19524.77 in
- Snowiest season
- 77.0 in1995-96
Median first snow
November 6
Earliest: September 22, 2000
Median last snow
April 5
Latest: May 13, 1995
0 of 56 winters had no measurable snow.
Station Hysham (USC00244358), 2,669 ft elevation, 3.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1945 to October 4, 2026; 97.1% 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
11 since 1953. The most recent: Flooding, October 11, 2023.
| Oct 11, 2023 | Flood | DR-4745-MT |
| Jun 16, 2022 | Flood | DR-4655-MT |
| Mar 31, 2020 | Biological | DR-4508-MT |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | EM-3476-MT |
| May 24, 2019 | Flood | DR-4437-MT |
| Oct 31, 2018 | Flood | DR-4405-MT |
| Jun 17, 2011 | Severe Storm | DR-1996-MT |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Hurricane | EM-3253-MT |
| Aug 30, 2000 | Fire | DR-1340-MT |
| Jul 25, 1997 | Severe Storm | DR-1183-MT |
| May 29, 1978 | Flood | DR-558-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 Treasure 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 | 47,115 | 39 / 56 |
| Flood insurance claims | 0 | — |
| Flood insurance paid | $0 | — |
| Disaster declarations | 11 | 25 / 56 |
| Flood events since 1996 | 13 | 46 / 56 |
| Hail and wind events since 1996 | 141 | 49 / 56 |
| Winter storm events since 1996 | 56 | 51 / 56 |
| Reported damage since 1996 | $300,000 | 42 / 56 |
| River crests at major flood stage | 0 | — |
| High tide flooding days a year, last 10 years | 0.0 | — |
| Months in severe drought since 1895 | 98 | 50 / 56 |
| Medium or heavy smoke days a year, last 10 years | 30.7 | 18 / 56 |
| Earthquakes M4+ within 50 mi since 1900 | 0 | — |
| Earthquakes M2.5+ in the county since 1973 | 0 | — |
Neighbouring counties
| Big Horn County | 11 | 0 |
| Rosebud County | 12 | 0 |
| Yellowstone County | 21 | 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 USC00244358.
- 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.