NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Choteau, 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 Choteau, 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 Choteau
The strongest of the 4 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F2 on July 2, 1966; its path came within 24 miles. The most recent tornado was on June 29, 1986. Of the 73 Montana cities on this site, 42% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Choteau. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 35 times since 1957, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Choteau has more hail reports within 10 miles than 61% of the 73 Montana cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Choteau
By decade
- 1980s1
- 1960s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2, 1966 | F2 | 24 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 2, 1964 | F1 | 23 mi | 27 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 29, 1986 | F0 | 16 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1963 | F0 | 17 mi | 1.5 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 Choteau
The Storm Prediction Center has 35 hail reports within 10 miles of Choteau since 1957, made on 24 separate days. Of these, 25 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on July 7, 2022. The most recent report is from August 19, 2024. July has the most reports, 20.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Choteau
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Choteau, MT, 8 miles east of Choteau at 3,845 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 48°F; January is the coolest, at 37°F and 13°F. June is the wettest at 2.8 inches of precipitation on average and January and December the driest at 0.3 inches; the year adds up to 12.0 inches over 33 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 9 days a year, almost all from July to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 177 nights a year. Snowfall averages 47.5 inches a year, most of it in March. That 12.0 inches is more than at 7 of the 58 Montana stations used on this site (12%). Fairfield, 21 miles southeast, has its own station (Fairfield, MT): 12.3 inches a year, 0.3 more than here, and a July average high of 80°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37 | 13 | 0.3 | 1 | 6.4 |
| Feb | 39 | 14 | 0.4 | 2 | 7.6 |
| Mar | 47 | 21 | 0.5 | 2 | 8.1 |
| Apr | 56 | 29 | 1.2 | 3 | 6.6 |
| May | 65 | 37 | 2.1 | 5 | 1.4 |
| Jun | 72 | 44 | 2.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 48 | 1.0 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 47 | 1.1 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 72 | 40 | 1.2 | 3 | 0.9 |
| Oct | 58 | 31 | 0.7 | 2 | 4.2 |
| Nov | 45 | 22 | 0.4 | 1 | 6.9 |
| Dec | 37 | 15 | 0.3 | 1 | 5.4 |
| Year | 58 | 30 | 12.0 | 33 | 47.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Choteau, MT (3,845 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 Choteau
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 26 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Choteau: 19 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 floods, 2 heavy rain events and 1 flash flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $250,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 89 mph, on September 1, 2004.
January 15, 2020: flood 8 miles from the centre of Choteau — $250,000 damage.
NWS: “An ice jam along the Spring Creek on the northeastern side of Choteau sent flood waters up to a couple feet in depth into a small section of the city with minor impacts. The flooding may have also played a partial role in the basement flooding reported by up to 80 houses in the city.”
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
Teton County, which includes Choteau, has been named in 12 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1975, 8 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 fires, 2 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm and Straight-Line Winds, on April 7, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Teton County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $8.2 million a year, the 30th highest of 56 Montana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.3 million (53%), 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 Choteau
- Fairfield, MT21 mi
- Conrad, MT30 mi
- Shelby, MT52 mi
- Cascade, MT52 mi
- Great Falls, MT54 mi
- Cut Bank, MT58 mi
- Browning, MT60 mi
- Bigfork, MT75 mi
- Helena, MT84 mi
- Polson, MT85 mi
- Ronan, MT85 mi
- St Ignatius, MT87 mi
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