Tornado in Montana
Every tornado event the National Weather Service has filed in Montana, year by year, with the most significant episodes. A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
The most significant on the map
The most significant tornado episodes in Montana.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The record
- Events
- 432
- Deaths
- 4
- Injuries
- 29
- Damage
- $56 million
Every year
The most significant
Ranked by deaths, injuries, damage and size together.
- Tornado and Hail in Montana, July 26, 2010An upper air disturbance moves east just north of a frontal boundary that helped to trigger severe weather. The severe weather that included one of the strongest tornadoes in Montana history started in far southern Saskatchewan and moved southeast across the area.
- Tornadoes in Montana, July 19, 1952
- Tornado and Hail in Montana, June 11, 2016A moist southeast surface flow resulting in 50 to 60 degree dewoints along with strong deep shear combined with a strong mid-level speed max were centered over eastern Montana. As a result, severe thunderstorms developed across Rosebud, Custer and Fallon Counties.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Montana, July 5, 1988
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Montana, June 20 to 21, 2010Meteorologically speaking, this was a very active severe weather day for south central Montana. A very moist and unstable atmosphere was in place across portions of the Billings Forecast area during the afternoon and evening of the 20th (Father's Day).
- Tornado and Flash Flood in Montana, June 16 to 17, 2010A strong system ejecting out of the central Rockies brought heavy rainfall and severe thunderstorms to the area during the evening. This episode produced an EF1 tornado in northern McCone county and a microburst in eastern Roosevelt county that killed one person near Froid, MT.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Montana, July 10, 1965
- Tornado in Montana, July 9, 1983
- Tornado in Montana, August 14, 1999NUMEROUS HAIL REPORTS 1 TO 2 INCHES...ONE WIND ESTIMATE AHEAD OF TORNADO 87KT
- Tornado and Hail in Montana, July 2, 1958
- Tornado in Montana, June 17, 2014A supercell thunderstorm produced a long-lived tornado across parts of East Central Carter County during the afternoon of June 17th. Eye-witnesses reported that the tornado was on the ground for approximately one hour.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Montana, June 6, 1994A roof was ripped off a mobile home.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Montana, June 21 to 22, 2010Severe weather continued into the third week of June across the Billings Forecast Area. |Plenty of low-level moisture continued to be in place across Southeast Montana.
- Tornado and Hail in Montana, July 15, 2013As surface dewpoints from the southwest reached 70 degrees and daytime temperatures soared above 90 degrees, a lee-side surface trough of low pressure focused the development of thunderstorms with very strong updrafts.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Montana, April 24 to 25, 1994The Bill Skelton ranch was hit by two tornadoes. Damage was extensive. A barn roof made from 8 to 12 inch logs was carried away. A two foot in diameter cottonwood tree was snapped five feet above the ground.
- Tornado and Hail in Montana, July 6, 2016A strong upper level short wave resulted in large-scale forcing across the eastern portions of the Billings Forecast Area. This resulted in severe thunderstorms across Custer and Fallon Counties during the afternoon of the 6th.
- Tornado in Montana, April 25, 1964
- Tornado in Montana, August 4, 1962
- Tornadoes and Hail in Montana, July 21, 1999Two supercell thunderstorms moved across northeast Montana causing a path of damage that extended from southern Phillips county to the North Dakota border. The hardest hit was the community of Glasgow where 4.5 inch hail fell damaging cars, roofs, windows and trees as it passed.
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Montana, July 4, 1998Several spotters and amateur radio operators reported funnel clouds in and around Laurel.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Montana, July 20, 2001A large supercell formed in Southwestern Phillips County and headed east across southern Valley County. The storm produced a tornado that crossed from Phillips County into Valley County.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Montana, July 4, 1998Large hail destroyed a wheat field.
- Tornado and Hail in Montana, July 5 to 9, 2022Disturbances moved through a persistent southwest flow aloft across the region, which continued to provide daily afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms.
- Tornado in Montana, July 8, 2002A severe thunderstorm moved across the northern half of Fergus County during the late afternoon hours on the 8th. This storm produced a widespread area of one to two inch hail from Brooks to Roy, with wind gusts over 70 mph.
- Tornado and Hail in Montana, May 20, 2020An expansive surface low pressure area and plentiful moisture shifted into eastern Montana and directed multiple and persistent severe thunderstorms from south to north through the region from mid-afternoon through then late night hours of the 20th.
More
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24.