Washakie County

Every recorded tornado

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

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 WY WSGS (357).

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. Mar 7, 2014Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Ice jam flooding caused damage in Worland. Neighborhoods near the river north and south of the Highway 789 bridge reported flooding of some homes. The water extended 100-200 yards from the river's edge at a depth of 12 to 18 inches.

2. Apr 18, 2011Debris Flow, Bighorn Mountains West$237,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A rockslide on US Highway 14A east of Lovell in the Bighorn Mountains deposited at least 7,500 cubic yards of rock on the roadway. The slide occurred near milepost 73.4 and was witnessed and recorded by at least one person. The slide along with record snowpack kept the road closed beyond its typical Memorial Day opening. The cost of rock removal and road repair exceeded $200,000.

3. Jun 10, 2011Debris Flow, Bighorn Mountains West$165,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The melting of record snowpack combined with heavy rain to saturate soils in the western Bighorn Mountains. Land below a section of U.S. Highway 14 above Shell Falls gave way near milepost 31.5 making travel on the highway unsafe. The slide, which measured at least 100 feet long, closed the highway for about three weeks.

4. Jun 29, 2011Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Temperatures approaching 70 degrees around 9,500 feet melted snow and caused the water level on Tensleep Creek to quickly rise during the overnight hours of June 29 and 30. The flood waters washed out a road leading to the Wigwam Fish Rearing Station and to a private residence near the mouth of Tensleep Canyon east of town. Several residents also reported flooding of their yards and at least one reported an out-building being inundated by water.

5. Feb 10, 2017Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Rapidly warming temperatures after a prolonged cold spell, rapidly melted snow in the Big Horn Basin. This, combined with the frozen Big Horn River breaking up, produced flooding in Washakie County, especially in the vicinity of Worland. Over 100 homes were evacuated in the low lying residential areas along the river. Some residents were out of their homes for three days before finally being allowed back as the water receded on February 14th. The water receded after February 15th as the ice jam moved northward into Big Horn County.

6. Sep 1, 2007Wildfire, Bighorn Mountains West$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Bone Creek Wildfire that began on Monday, August 13 continued until Saturday, September 15. The fire scorched approximately 13,670 acres of forest, almost all of which resided within the borders of Big Horn County. The passage of a cold front shortly after midnight on Wednesday, September 5 shifted winds to the north allowing the blaze to jump U.S. Highway 14 west of Shell Falls. Six-tenths of a mile of guardrail burned along the highway which was closed for most of September 5 and 6. Firefighting costs were estimated at $2.8 million. No structures were burned in the blaze. More information about the origins of this wildfire are contained in the August 2007 Storm Data publication.

7. Aug 30, 2010Tornado$70,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado swept through Juniper trees on a high ridge before descending the hillside into the Nowood River Valley southeast of Ten Sleep. The tornado destroyed several well-built out buildings and downed at least 20, century-old Cottonwood trees on ranches in the valley.

8. Aug 30, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Ping pong ball sized hail driven by wind gusts estimated to be around 85 mph damaged roofs, rain gutters, windows, and siding of several homes in the Nowood River Valley south of Ten Sleep. The wind also ripped metal roofing from a garage, while another garage was significantly damaged by a toppled Cottonwood tree. A rear flank downdraft associated with a nearby supercell thunderstorm was responsible for the damaging wind.

9. Mar 7, 2014Flood$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding of two ranches occurred along the Nowood River north of Ten Sleep. The ice jams formed on several bends in the serpentine river flooding ranch lands. At least one resident evacuated their residence as the water level climbed.

10. Aug 6, 2007Flash Flood$35,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Heavy rain caused mud, rocks, and water to spread from higher terrain south across Little Cottonwood Creek Road. At least one culvert and part of the road were to be replaced following the flash flood. The basement of one ranch house about six miles west of Winchester was inundated by the flood waters and mud.

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

110°FJul 12, 2026

All-time low

−50°FDec 21, 1990

Warmest night

74°FJun 26, 1988

Coldest day

−27°FDec 21, 1990

Wettest day

2.12 inMay 5, 1993

Snowiest day

11.0 inApr 7, 1975

Hottest year

1981mean 49.4°F

Coldest year

1978mean 41.9°F

Wettest year

201911.44 in

Driest year

20122.93 in

Station Worland Municipal Airport (USW00024062), 4,195 ft elevation, 3.9 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1960 to October 26, 2026; 99.1% 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.

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 USW00024062.
• 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.