NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Dillon, 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 Dillon, 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 Dillon
The strongest of the 4 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F2 on May 19, 1962; its path came within 11 miles. The most recent tornado was on July 10, 2016. Of the 73 Montana cities on this site, 42% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Dillon. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 12 times since 1987, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 73 Montana cities, 78% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Dillon.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Dillon
By decade
- 2010s1
- 1990s1
- 1960s1
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 19, 1962 | F2 | 11 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 10, 2016 | EF0 | 8 mi | 0.03 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 19, 1997 | F0 | 6 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 2, 1959 | F0 | 18 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 Dillon
The Storm Prediction Center has 12 hail reports within 10 miles of Dillon since 1987, made on 10 separate days. Of these, 5 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on August 11, 2019. The most recent report is from September 3, 2024. August has the most reports, 7.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Dillon
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Dillon U Of Montana Western, MT, 8 miles northeast of Dillon at 5,129 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 48°F; December is the coolest, at 32°F and 13°F. May and June are the wettest at 1.9 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.3 inches; the year adds up to 11.4 inches over 32 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 14 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 189 nights a year. Snowfall averages 11.2 inches a year, most of it in December. That 11.4 inches is more than at 3 of the 58 Montana stations used on this site (5%).
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 15 | 0.3 | 1 | 1.7 |
| Feb | 37 | 16 | 0.4 | 1 | 0.9 |
| Mar | 46 | 23 | 0.7 | 2 | 0.4 |
| Apr | 54 | 28 | 1.5 | 4 | 0.2 |
| May | 64 | 36 | 1.9 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 73 | 42 | 1.9 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 48 | 0.9 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 46 | 0.9 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 71 | 39 | 0.9 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 56 | 30 | 1.0 | 3 | 0.4 |
| Nov | 41 | 21 | 0.5 | 2 | 2.9 |
| Dec | 32 | 13 | 0.5 | 2 | 4.6 |
| Year | 56 | 30 | 11.4 | 32 | 11.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Dillon U Of Montana Western, MT (5,129 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 Dillon
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 17 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Dillon: 12 thunderstorm wind reports, 2 flash floods, 2 heavy rain events and 1 flood. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 70 mph, on September 29, 2002.
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
Beaverhead County, which includes Dillon, has been named in 6 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 2000, 2 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 fires, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 31, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Beaverhead 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 $9.9 million a year, the 23rd highest of 56 Montana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.1 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.
Cities near Dillon
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- Manhattan, MT84 mi
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