NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Deer Lodge, 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 Deer Lodge, 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 Deer Lodge
The strongest of the 5 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F1 on June 28, 1982; its path came within 3 miles. Of the 5, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and none has come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on September 15, 1997. Deer Lodge has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 57% of the 73 Montana cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 32 times since 1982, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Deer Lodge has more hail reports within 10 miles than 57% of the 73 Montana cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Deer Lodge
By decade
- 1990s1
- 1980s2
- 1970s1
- 1960s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 28, 1982 | F1 | 3 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 15, 1997 | F0 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 11, 1988 | F0 | 22 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 4, 1971 | F0 | 21 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 17, 1962 | F0 | 9 mi | 0.1 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 Deer Lodge
The Storm Prediction Center has 32 hail reports within 10 miles of Deer Lodge since 1982, made on 24 separate days. Of these, 16 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently July 3, 1988. The most recent report is from July 27, 2018. July has the most reports, 13.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Deer Lodge
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Anaconda, MT, 20 miles southwest of Deer Lodge at 5,230 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 49°F; December is the coolest, at 34°F and 15°F. June is the wettest at 2.2 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.6 inches; the year adds up to 15.0 inches over 45 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 10 days a year, almost all from July to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 201 nights a year. Snowfall averages 75.1 inches a year, most of it in November and December. That 15.0 inches is more than at 35 of the 58 Montana stations used on this site (60%). Butte, 29 miles south, has its own station (Butte Bert Mooney Airport, MT): 12.7 inches a year, 2.3 less than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37 | 16 | 0.6 | 2 | 11.4 |
| Feb | 39 | 16 | 1.0 | 2 | 11.3 |
| Mar | 48 | 23 | 1.2 | 4 | 11.8 |
| Apr | 55 | 28 | 1.5 | 4 | 9.9 |
| May | 64 | 36 | 2.1 | 6 | 2.0 |
| Jun | 73 | 43 | 2.2 | 7 | 0.6 |
| Jul | 83 | 49 | 1.3 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 47 | 1.2 | 4 | 0.2 |
| Sep | 72 | 40 | 1.2 | 3 | 0.4 |
| Oct | 57 | 31 | 1.0 | 4 | 3.3 |
| Nov | 43 | 21 | 1.0 | 3 | 12.1 |
| Dec | 34 | 15 | 0.7 | 2 | 12.1 |
| Year | 57 | 30 | 15.0 | 45 | 75.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Anaconda, MT (5,230 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 Deer Lodge
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 10 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Deer Lodge: 5 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 floods, 1 flash flood and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $71,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 69 mph, on June 4, 2006.
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 Deer Lodge's ZIP code 59722 have filed 18 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1981, and were paid $120,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1981, with 11. Of the 26 Montana cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 7 have fewer than Deer Lodge.
Powell County, which includes Deer Lodge, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1975, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 fires, 4 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 Powell 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 $4.1 million a year, the 42nd highest of 56 Montana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.6 million (40%), 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 Deer Lodge
- Anaconda, MT21 mi
- Butte, MT29 mi
- Boulder, MT34 mi
- Clancy, MT37 mi
- Helena, MT39 mi
- East Helena, MT43 mi
- Whitehall, MT46 mi
- Bonner, MT55 mi
- Townsend, MT61 mi
- Stevensville, MT62 mi
- Corvallis, MT63 mi
- Florence, MT66 mi
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