NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Box Elder, 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 Box Elder, Montana since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 7 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 7
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Box Elder
The strongest of the 7 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on July 5, 1988; its path came within 16 miles. Of the 7, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 2 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on June 10, 2023. Box Elder has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 71% of the 73 Montana cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 14 times since 1976, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 73 Montana cities, 68% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Box Elder.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Box Elder
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s1
- 1990s3
- 1980s1(1 EF3+)
- 1960s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 5, 1988 | F3 | 16 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 1, 1962 | F1 | 14 mi | 3.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2012 | EF0 | 20 mi | 1.05 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 26, 1994 | F0 | 8 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 26, 1994 | F0 | 8 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 16, 1993 | F0 | 25 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 10, 2023 | Unrated | 12 mi | 2.11 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 7 of 7, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Box Elder
The Storm Prediction Center has 14 hail reports within 10 miles of Box Elder since 1976, made on 13 separate days. Of these, 8 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2 inches (hen egg size), was reported on 2 days, most recently June 9, 2021. The most recent report is from July 6, 2022. August has the most reports, 5.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Box Elder
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Big Sandy, MT, 14 miles south of Box Elder at 2,770 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 55°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 10°F. June is the wettest at 3.1 inches of precipitation on average and February and December the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 13.4 inches over 37 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 28 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 180 nights a year. That 13.4 inches is more than at 18 of the 58 Montana stations used on this site (31%). Havre, 20 miles northeast, has its own station (Havre City Co Airport, MT): 11.9 inches a year, 1.5 less than here, and the same July average high, 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 10 | 0.5 | 2 |
| Feb | 35 | 13 | 0.4 | 2 |
| Mar | 46 | 22 | 0.5 | 2 |
| Apr | 58 | 33 | 1.3 | 3 |
| May | 68 | 41 | 2.1 | 5 |
| Jun | 76 | 49 | 3.1 | 7 |
| Jul | 86 | 55 | 1.4 | 4 |
| Aug | 85 | 53 | 1.0 | 3 |
| Sep | 74 | 44 | 1.2 | 3 |
| Oct | 59 | 33 | 0.9 | 3 |
| Nov | 44 | 22 | 0.6 | 2 |
| Dec | 34 | 13 | 0.4 | 2 |
| Year | 58 | 32 | 13.4 | 37 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Big Sandy, MT (2,770 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 Box Elder
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 12 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Box Elder: 10 thunderstorm wind reports, 1 flash flood and 1 flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $238,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on July 13, 2000.
May 7, 2024: flood 5 miles from the centre of Box Elder — $194,000 damage.
NWS: “MT Department of Emergency Services reported $177,000 worth of damages to roads and bridges near the Bears Paw Mountains. Additional damages to utilities totaled $17,000.”
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
Hill County, which includes Box Elder, has been named in 13 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1986, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 4 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 fire). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm and Flooding, on July 18, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Hill County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for lightning; Relatively Low for inland flooding; Very Low for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $13.2 million a year, the 17th highest of 56 Montana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.4 million (33%), 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 Box Elder
- Havre, MT20 mi
- Chinook, MT38 mi
- Harlem, MT58 mi
- Shelby, MT84 mi
- Great Falls, MT84 mi
- Lewistown, MT90 mi
- Conrad, MT93 mi
- Malta, MT99 mi
- Fairfield, MT107 mi
- Cascade, MT111 mi
- Choteau, MT115 mi
- Cut Bank, MT118 mi
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