NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Columbus, 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 Columbus, 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 Columbus
The strongest of the 4 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F1 on August 12, 1958; its path came within 24 miles. The most recent tornado was on August 11, 2005. Of the 73 Montana cities on this site, 42% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Columbus. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 61 times since 1958, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Columbus has more hail reports within 10 miles than 80% of the 73 Montana cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Columbus
By decade
- 2000s1
- 1990s1
- 1960s1
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 12, 1958 | F1 | 24 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 11, 2005 | F0 | 21 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 20, 1997 | F0 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1964 | F0 | 22 mi | 0.1 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 Columbus
The Storm Prediction Center has 61 hail reports within 10 miles of Columbus since 1958, made on 31 separate days. Of these, 48 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on June 6, 2011. The most recent report is from June 13, 2025. June has the most reports, 37.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Columbus
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Columbus, MT, 3 miles north of Columbus at 3,602 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 50°F; January is the coolest, at 37°F and 10°F. May is the wettest at 2.8 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.6 inches; the year adds up to 15.7 inches over 42 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 183 nights a year. Snowfall averages 47.6 inches a year, most of it in December. That 15.7 inches is more than at 39 of the 58 Montana stations used on this site (67%). Park City, 15 miles east, has its own station (Joliet, MT): 14.6 inches a year, 1.1 less than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37 | 10 | 0.6 | 2 | 7.0 |
| Feb | 40 | 13 | 0.7 | 2 | 8.8 |
| Mar | 51 | 21 | 0.9 | 3 | 7.7 |
| Apr | 58 | 28 | 2.0 | 6 | 4.5 |
| May | 67 | 37 | 2.8 | 6 | 0.5 |
| Jun | 76 | 45 | 2.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 50 | 1.2 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 48 | 0.9 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 39 | 1.4 | 3 | 0.2 |
| Oct | 60 | 29 | 1.5 | 4 | 3.8 |
| Nov | 46 | 19 | 0.7 | 2 | 5.9 |
| Dec | 37 | 11 | 0.7 | 2 | 9.2 |
| Year | 60 | 29 | 15.7 | 42 | 47.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Columbus, MT (3,602 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 Columbus
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 29 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Columbus: 23 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 flash floods and 1 flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $804,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 70 mph, on July 1, 2008. June has had the most flash floods, 4 of 5. Of the 42 Montana cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 34 have had fewer than Columbus.
March 23, 2019: flood 10 miles from the centre of Columbus — $804,000 damage.
NWS: “Many roads along the foothills were washed out or severely damaged due to rain and snowmelt on top of ground that remained frozen. Approximately 12 roads were damaged, 9 of which had to be closed.”
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 Columbus's ZIP code 59019 have filed 11 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $331,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 64% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 26 Montana cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 2 have fewer than Columbus.
Stillwater County, which includes Columbus, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1978, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 fires, 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm and Straight-Line Winds, on April 7, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Stillwater County a Very 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 $9.2 million a year, the 25th highest of 56 Montana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.1 million (66%), 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 Columbus
- Park City, MT15 mi
- Joliet, MT18 mi
- Red Lodge, MT25 mi
- Laurel, MT25 mi
- Big Timber, MT37 mi
- Billings, MT37 mi
- Huntley, MT50 mi
- Shepherd, MT52 mi
- Powell, WY59 mi
- Cody, WY72 mi
- Lovell, WY72 mi
- Roundup, MT74 mi
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