Wheatland County
Population 2,100 (2025) 1,423 sq mi
Large wildfires have burned 7,934 acres of Wheatland County since 1984, 47th most of 56 counties in Montana; the largest was the Two Dot Fire in 1988.
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 19507
- Wildfire burn scars since 19843
At a glance
The record for Wheatland County in eight numbers. Each links to its section below.
Tornadoes
About one every 11 years since 1950, none rated F3/EF3 or stronger.
Strongest
August 14, 1999
F0, 5.0 mile path
0 yards wide.
Most recent
Thursday, June 27, 2019
EF0, 0.4 mile path
7 years ago.
Every recorded tornado
| Jun 27, 2019 | EF0 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 9, 2010 | EF0 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 |
| Aug 14, 1999 | F0 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 5, 1997 | F0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 15, 1989 | F0 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 |
| Aug 22, 1978 | F0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 24, 1978 | F0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
- Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Wheatland 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
7,934 acres burned in 3 large fires since 1984, equal to 0.9% of the land.
Largest
August 30, 1988
Two Dot Fire, 5,096 acres
3,013 acres inside Wheatland County.
Most recent
February 2, 2020
Lode Road Fire
2,731 acres in total.
Every large fire
| Lode Road | 2020 | 2,729 | 2,731 |
| Blacktail | 2017 | 2,190 | 4,027 |
| Two Dot | 1988 | 3,013 | 5,096 |
- 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: 60 days
Heavy smoke on 40 days in 2021, the most of any year.
Last 10 years
28.1 days a year
Medium or heavy smoke, 2016 to 2025.
2025
19 days
Medium or heavy smoke. 36 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
19 federal flood insurance claims since 1979, with $38,000 paid.
Most claims in one year
1979: 11 claims
$11,000 paid.
Claims by ZIP code
| 59036 | 16 | $33,000 |
Flood events since 1996
- Flood5
- Flash Flood4
- Heavy Rain2
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
May 25, 2011
Musselshell River near Harlowton, 10.25 ft
3.25 feet above the 7.0 ft flood stage; minor flooding by today’s categories.
River gauges
| Musselshell River near Harlowton | 7.0 | 10.25 ft | 0 |
| Musselshell River near Shawmut | 8.0 | 9.27 ft | 0 |
- 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 197 of 1,581 months since 1895 (12%); the longest spell lasted 33 months.
197
Months in severe drought or worse since 1895
106
Months in extreme drought
12%
Share of all months, severe or worse
4
Drought reports to the Weather Service since 1996
Lowest reading
August 1937
−6.41, extreme drought
Longest severe spell
33 months
May 2000 to January 2003.
Latest month
September 2026
−3.81, severe drought
- 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
5 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles since 1900; the largest was magnitude 5.4 in 1926.
0
Magnitude 2.5+ inside the county since 1973
12
Magnitude 3+ within 50 miles since 1973
5
Magnitude 4+ within 50 miles since 1900
1
Magnitude 5+ within 50 miles since 1900
Largest within 50 miles
December 12, 1926
Clarkston Valley, Montana (Aftershock); 44.7 miles away.
Most recent, magnitude 3 or more
January 30, 2023
Magnitude 3.8
9 km NNW of Livingston, Montana; 36.2 miles away.
Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles
| Nov 25, 2007 | 4.1 | 29.1 |
| Nov 6, 1997 | 4.0 | 47.5 |
| Feb 15, 1963 | 4.5 | 35.4 |
| Feb 15, 1929 | 4.7 | 49.4 |
| Dec 12, 1926 | 5.4 | 44.7 |
- 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
687 events in the National Weather Service record, 671 of them since 1996.
68
Hail reports, 1 inch or larger
7
Hail, 2 inches or larger
31
Damaging gusts, 58 mph+
217
Winter weather events since 1996
0
Heat events since 1996
0
Cold events since 1996
Largest hail
July 8, 2013
2.75 inches
Strongest measured or estimated gust
July 6, 2009
81 mph
More event types since 1996
| Avalanches | 1 | 0 |
- 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 Harlowton, 1.3 miles from the county’s population centre, with records from 1948.
- All-time high
- 106°FJul 12, 2026
- All-time low
- −41°FJan 12, 2024
- Warmest night
- 67°F4 times, most recently Jul 16, 1997
- Coldest day
- −20°F2 times, most recently Jan 12, 2024
- Wettest day
- 2.44 inJun 6, 1997
- Snowiest day
- 24.0 inApr 28, 1950
- Hottest year
- 1987mean 47.3°F
- Coldest year
- 1951mean 38.5°F
- Wettest year
- 199721.60 in
- Driest year
- 20124.86 in
- Snowiest season
- 78.4 in1988-89
Median first snow
October 23
Earliest: September 8, 1962
Median last snow
April 23
Latest: June 12, 1969
0 of 61 winters had no measurable snow.
Station Harlowton (USC00243939), 4,222 ft elevation, 1.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to September 30, 2026; 85.5% 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.
Federal disaster declarations
10 since 1953. The most recent: Severe Winter Storm and Straight-Line Winds, April 7, 2026.
| Apr 7, 2026 | Straight-Line Winds | DR-4902-MT |
| Jul 18, 2024 | Severe Storm | DR-4801-MT |
| Mar 31, 2020 | Biological | DR-4508-MT |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | EM-3476-MT |
| Apr 17, 2014 | Flood | DR-4172-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 |
| Jun 28, 1975 | Flood | DR-472-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 Wheatland County stands among 56 counties in Montana and 3,143 in the United States.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 7 | 24 / 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 | 7,934 | 47 / 56 |
| Flood insurance claims | 19 | 18 / 56 |
| Flood insurance paid | $38,000 | 29 / 56 |
| Disaster declarations | 10 | 27 / 56 |
| Flood events since 1996 | 11 | 49 / 56 |
| Hail and wind events since 1996 | 430 | 24 / 56 |
| Winter storm events since 1996 | 217 | 19 / 56 |
| Reported damage since 1996 | $0 | — |
| River crests at major flood stage | 0 | — |
| High tide flooding days a year, last 10 years | 0.0 | — |
| Months in severe drought since 1895 | 197 | 15 / 56 |
| Medium or heavy smoke days a year, last 10 years | 28.1 | 41 / 56 |
| Earthquakes M4+ within 50 mi since 1900 | 5 | 28 / 56 |
| Earthquakes M2.5+ in the county since 1973 | 0 | — |
Neighbouring counties
| Fergus County | 28 | 0 |
| Golden Valley County | 0 | 0 |
| Judith Basin County | 18 | 0 |
| Meagher County | 3 | 0 |
| Sweet Grass County | 2 | 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 USC00243939.
- 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.