NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Bigfork, MT
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Bigfork, Montana since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 4 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 4
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Bigfork
The highest rating among the 4 tornadoes within 25 miles is EF0, reached 4 times; the most recent, on November 4, 2013, came within 5 miles. Of the 73 Montana cities on this site, 42% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Bigfork. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 12 times since 1960, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 73 Montana cities, 78% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Bigfork.
Compare Bigfork's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Bigfork
By decade
- 2010s2
- 2000s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 4, 2013 | EF0 | 5 mi | 0.75 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 1, 2011 | EF0 | 13 mi | 0.73 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 18, 2007 | EF0 | 8 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 18, 2007 | EF0 | 4 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 4 of 4, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Bigfork
The Storm Prediction Center has 12 hail reports within 10 miles of Bigfork since 1960, made on 10 separate days. Of these, 8 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on July 25, 2011. The most recent report is from August 19, 2024. July has the most reports, 5.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Bigfork
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Bigfork 13 S, MT, 6 miles southwest of Bigfork at 2,979 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 55°F; January is the coolest, at 34°F and 25°F. June is the wettest at 3.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.0 inches; the year adds up to 21.3 inches over 56 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 5 days a year, almost all from July to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 127 nights a year. That 21.3 inches is more than at 52 of the 58 Montana stations used on this site (90%). Polson, 20 miles southwest, has its own station (Polson, MT): 14.9 inches a year, 6.4 less than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 25 | 1.7 | 5 |
| Feb | 37 | 26 | 1.0 | 3 |
| Mar | 45 | 30 | 1.3 | 4 |
| Apr | 53 | 35 | 1.8 | 5 |
| May | 63 | 43 | 2.5 | 6 |
| Jun | 70 | 49 | 3.2 | 7 |
| Jul | 80 | 55 | 1.3 | 4 |
| Aug | 79 | 54 | 1.1 | 3 |
| Sep | 69 | 47 | 1.7 | 4 |
| Oct | 55 | 38 | 2.4 | 5 |
| Nov | 42 | 32 | 1.7 | 5 |
| Dec | 34 | 26 | 1.6 | 5 |
| Year | 55 | 38 | 21.3 | 56 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Bigfork 13 S, MT (2,979 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Bigfork
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 10 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Bigfork: 8 thunderstorm wind reports, 1 flood and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $61,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 61 mph, on March 14, 2003.
July 22, 2000: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Bigfork — 1 killed, 1 injured.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Bigfork's ZIP code 59911 have filed 53 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1996, and were paid $420,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1997, with 30. Of the 26 Montana cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 17 have fewer than Bigfork.
Lake County, which includes Bigfork, has been named in 8 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 2000, 5 of them major disasters (by incident: 2 biological emergencies, 2 fires, 2 floods, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm and Straight-Line Winds, on April 7, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Lake County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $23.0 million a year, the 10th highest of 56 Montana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.1 million (31%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 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).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets 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).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Bigfork
- Lakeside, MT13 mi
- Polson, MT20 mi
- Kalispell, MT24 mi
- Ronan, MT30 mi
- Columbia Falls, MT36 mi
- Whitefish, MT38 mi
- St Ignatius, MT44 mi
- Arlee, MT54 mi
- Browning, MT59 mi
- Thompson Falls, MT61 mi
- Frenchtown, MT64 mi
- Bonner, MT74 mi
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