Rich County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Rich 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.

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.

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 UT GRC (778).

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. Feb 16, 2026Winter Storm, Wasatch Mountains I-80 North$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A powerful winter storm brought heavy snow and strong winds to the area. Reported snow observations include 27 inches of snow in the Logan Mountains (3.1 inches water), 23 inches of snow at Powder Mountain (2.5 inches water), and 18 inches of snow at Snowbasin - Base (1.9 inches of water). Additionally, several SNOTEL stations including Lightning Ridge, Ben Lomond Peak, and Monte Cristo recorded from 1.6 to 2.7 inches of snow water equivalent, resulting in approximately 21 to 37 inches of snow. Some peak wind gust observations through the event include 97 mph at Snowbasin - Straw Top, 78 mph at Snowbasin - Strawberry Tower 15, and 76 mph at Ogden Peak. Inclement conditions also…

2. Feb 7, 2017Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain and snowmelt overwhelmed drainage systems in portions of Rich County. A 10 to 15 foot section of a canal was breached near Garden City, leading to flooding in several homes. Eleven homes were also flooded in Laketown, and water flowed over multiple area roadways, including State Route 16 between Randolph and Woodruff.

3. Dec 20, 1996Heavy Snow, Wasatch Mountains I80 North$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A broad trough spread a series of disturbances into Utah during this time. Periods of heavy snow occurred in the mountains and Cache valley. Alta received a storm total of 47 inches. In southern Utah, Duck Creek Village reported 21 inches. Logan, in the Cache valley, measured 12 inches. On the afternoon of the 23rd an avalanche closed state route #158. Some 200 skiers were trapped at the Powder Mountain ski resort for 8 hours until the road reopened. Numerous traffic accidents due to slick and icy roadways were reported during this time as well.

4. Aug 1, 2021Flash Flood$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An observer reported 3 feet of rocks, mud, and water flooded into a ranch basement and nearly moved a second home off its foundation near the Crawford Mountains.

5. Jul 31, 2021Flood$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Basement flooding occurred in 3 homes in Randolph.

6. Mar 28, 2023Avalanche, Wasatch Mountains I-80 North$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   At around 11:30 am, a large avalanche occurred near the Gold Ridge / Hardscrabble backcountry area, approximately 7 miles ESE of Farmington. At the time of the avalanche, one snowcat carrying two occupants was caught in the slide and buried. A second snowcat and its five occupants were able to quickly uncover one of the buried snowcat occupants, who had sustained minor head injuries. This occupant was subsequently taken to an area hospital by ambulance. The second occupant was buried with their leg trapped beneath the snowcat, but was uncovered enough that they could breath. When rescue crews arrived, they were able to uncover the buried occupant, who was then transported by…

7. Jan 2, 1997Heavy Snow, Wasatch Mountains I80 North$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The subtropical moisture in a southwesterly flow led to heavy snow in Utah's northern mountains. Generally 10-20 inches of snow fell during this time. The Alta ski resort measured the most with 20 inches. A rock slide closed Ogden canyon for awhile on the morning of the 3rd. No other significant damage was reported.

8. Dec 20, 2003Heavy Snow, Wasatch Mountains I80 North$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A winter storm brought heavy snow and slick roads to much of Northern Utah, causing several accidents. The snow was also blamed for a fatality, as a driver lost control of his vehicle on the snowy roads between Grantsville and Wendover, rolling it into the medium. Some snow totals for this storm were 16 inches at Snowbird and Solitude, 14 inches at Alta, 12 inches at Sundance, 8 inches in Centerville, Bountiful and East Layton, 6 inches in South Ogden and the SLC Avenues, and 4 inches in Clearfield, Alpine, Heber City, Morgan and Laketown.

9. Jan 15, 2002Heavy Snow, Wasatch Mountains I80 North$10,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A cold arctic storm dropped several inches of fluffy snow across Northern Utah. The slick roads resulted in hundreds of mainly minor traffic accidents along the Wasatch Front. Snow totals included Alta with 8 inches, Snowbird with 7 inches, Bountiful Bench 5 inches, East Layton and Northeast Ogden 4 inches, and Provo with 3 inches.

10. Jan 12, 2024Avalanche, Wasatch Mountains I-80 North$5,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    At around 6:20 am MST, a natural avalanche occurred near the Dugway section of Logan Canyon. Per the Utah Avalanche Center report, this slab avalanche of wind-drifted snow started around 6000 feet on a west facing slope, had a vertical run of 150 feet, a width of 80 feet, and a depth of 2 feet. The avalanche hit a car on US-89 and pushed it against a guard rail, but no injuries were reported. This avalanche resulted in closure of US-89 in Logan Canyon between milepost 460 (near Logan) and milepost 490 (near Garden City/Bear Lake) for over 24 hours.

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

99°FJul 12, 1917

All-time low

−37°F2 times, most recently Jan 22, 1962

Warmest night

70°F2 times, most recently Aug 10, 2026

Coldest day

−10°FJan 12, 1963

Wettest day

5.50 inMay 24, 1906

Snowiest day

17.5 inJan 11, 2005

Hottest year

1934mean 47.2°F

Coldest year

1984mean 39.5°F

Wettest year

201721.40 in

Driest year

19885.11 in

Snowiest season

164.2 in2022-23

Station Laketown (USC00424856), 5,980 ft elevation, 3.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1900 to October 19, 2026; 95.3% 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 USC00424856.
• 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.