NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Chinook, 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 Chinook, Montana since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 5 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 5
- 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 Chinook
The highest rating among the 5 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1, reached 2 times; the most recent, on July 8, 2002, came within 7 miles. Of the 5, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 3 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on August 26, 2022. Chinook has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 57% of the 73 Montana cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 19 times since 1974, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 73 Montana cities, 56% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Chinook.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Chinook
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s1
- 2000s1
- 1990s1
- 1960s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 8, 2002 | F1 | 7 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 1, 1962 | F1 | 24 mi | 3.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 26, 2022 | EF0 | 16 mi | 3.06 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 2014 | EF0 | 5 mi | 0.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 1999 | F0 | 7 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 5 of 5, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Chinook
The Storm Prediction Center has 19 hail reports within 10 miles of Chinook since 1974, made on 14 separate days. Of these, 14 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently July 30, 2023. The most recent report is from July 13, 2024. July has the most reports, 10.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Chinook
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Chinook, MT, 8 miles north of Chinook at 2,420 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 54°F; January is the coolest, at 27°F and 4°F. June is the wettest at 2.9 inches of precipitation on average and February and December the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 13.5 inches over 37 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 24 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 195 nights a year. That 13.5 inches is more than at 19 of the 58 Montana stations used on this site (33%). Harlem, 21 miles east, has its own station (Harlem, MT): 12.5 inches a year, 1.0 less than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27 | 4 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Feb | 31 | 7 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Mar | 43 | 18 | 0.6 | 2 |
| Apr | 57 | 29 | 1.0 | 3 |
| May | 67 | 40 | 2.4 | 5 |
| Jun | 75 | 49 | 2.9 | 7 |
| Jul | 84 | 54 | 1.6 | 4 |
| Aug | 83 | 52 | 1.1 | 3 |
| Sep | 72 | 41 | 1.0 | 4 |
| Oct | 57 | 29 | 0.9 | 3 |
| Nov | 41 | 17 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Dec | 31 | 8 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Year | 56 | 29 | 13.5 | 37 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Chinook, MT (2,420 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 Chinook
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 36 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Chinook: 32 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 floods and 1 flash flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 84 mph, on August 6, 2004.
April 10, 2023: flood 9 miles from the centre of Chinook — $1.5 million damage.
NWS: “Significant flooding occurred along the Milk River across Blaine County. 0���).”
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 Chinook's ZIP code 59523 have filed 17 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $15,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 26 Montana cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 6 have fewer than Chinook.
Blaine County, which includes Chinook, has been named in 13 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1986, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 floods, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 fire). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm and Straight-Line Winds, on April 7, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Blaine 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 $8.6 million a year, the 28th highest of 56 Montana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.6 million (41%), 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 Chinook
- Harlem, MT21 mi
- Havre, MT29 mi
- Box Elder, MT38 mi
- Malta, MT65 mi
- Lewistown, MT100 mi
- Glasgow, MT116 mi
- Shelby, MT119 mi
- Great Falls, MT120 mi
- Conrad, MT130 mi
- Roundup, MT138 mi
- Fairfield, MT145 mi
- Cascade, MT146 mi
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