NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Columbia Falls, 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 Columbia Falls, Montana since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 2 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 2
- 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 Columbia Falls
The highest rating among the 2 tornadoes within 25 miles is F0 or EF0, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 9, 2008, came within 16 miles. Of the 73 Montana cities on this site, 73% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Columbia Falls. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 26 times since 1966, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 73 Montana cities, 51% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Columbia Falls.
Compare Columbia Falls's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Columbia Falls
By decade
- 2000s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 9, 2008 | EF0 | 16 mi | 0.01 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 10, 2000 | F0 | 5 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 2 of 2, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Columbia Falls
The Storm Prediction Center has 26 hail reports within 10 miles of Columbia Falls since 1966, made on 24 separate days. Of these, 17 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on June 26, 1993. The most recent report is from May 11, 2025. June has the most reports, 9.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Columbia Falls
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Whitefish, MT, 6 miles west of Columbia Falls at 3,100 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 50°F; January is the coolest, at 29°F and 16°F. June is the wettest at 3.2 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 20.1 inches over 65 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 13 days a year, almost all from July to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 195 nights a year. Snowfall averages 63.1 inches a year, most of it in December. That 20.1 inches is more than at 51 of the 58 Montana stations used on this site (88%). Kalispell, 17 miles south, has its own station (Kalispell Glacier Airport, MT): 16.8 inches a year, 3.3 less than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29 | 16 | 1.8 | 7 | 16.5 |
| Feb | 34 | 16 | 1.3 | 5 | 7.0 |
| Mar | 43 | 23 | 1.3 | 4 | 8.0 |
| Apr | 53 | 30 | 1.6 | 5 | 1.6 |
| May | 64 | 39 | 2.0 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 70 | 45 | 3.2 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 81 | 50 | 1.4 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 48 | 0.9 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 69 | 40 | 1.3 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 53 | 31 | 1.5 | 5 | 0.4 |
| Nov | 38 | 24 | 1.7 | 6 | 8.3 |
| Dec | 29 | 18 | 2.1 | 7 | 21.2 |
| Year | 53 | 32 | 20.1 | 65 | 63.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Whitefish, MT (3,100 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 Columbia Falls
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 16 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Columbia Falls: 9 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 floods, 3 heavy rain events and 1 flash flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $591,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 64 mph, on July 22, 2010.
June 15, 2022: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Columbia Falls — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “Several areas of flooding and debris flows occurred, mainly on June 15. Trumbull Creek west of Columbia Falls, flooded a dozen homes near Highway 2 with water on to the highway.”
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 Columbia Falls's ZIP code 59912 have filed 22 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1990, and were paid $141,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1997, with 14. Of the 26 Montana cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 12 have fewer than Columbia Falls.
Flathead County, which includes Columbia Falls, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 fires, 3 floods, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm and Straight-Line Winds, on April 7, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Flathead County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes, hail and strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $75.4 million a year, the highest of 56 Montana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $23.8 million (32%), 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.