NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Harlem, 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 Harlem, Montana since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 7 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 7
- 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 Harlem
The strongest of the 7 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F1 on July 8, 2002; its path came within 24 miles. Of the 7, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 5 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on August 26, 2022. Harlem has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 71% of the 73 Montana cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 11 times since 2000, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 73 Montana cities, 82% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Harlem.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Harlem
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s2
- 2000s2
- 1990s1
- 1970s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 8, 2002 | F1 | 24 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 26, 2022 | EF0 | 14 mi | 3.06 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 31, 2014 | EF0 | 16 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 2014 | EF0 | 24 mi | 0.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 2005 | F0 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 1999 | F0 | 24 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 28, 1971 | F0 | 21 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 7 of 7, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Harlem
The Storm Prediction Center has 11 hail reports within 10 miles of Harlem since 2000, made on 8 separate days. Of these, 8 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 3 days, most recently June 23, 2008. The most recent report is from July 13, 2024. July has the most reports, 6.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Harlem
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Harlem, MT, 5 miles northwest of Harlem at 2,371 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 54°F; January is the coolest, at 28°F and 5°F. June is the wettest at 2.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 12.5 inches over 34 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 30 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 192 nights a year. That 12.5 inches is more than at 11 of the 58 Montana stations used on this site (19%). Chinook, 21 miles west, has its own station (Chinook, MT): 13.5 inches a year, 1.0 more than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28 | 5 | 0.5 | 2 |
| Feb | 33 | 9 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Mar | 45 | 20 | 0.5 | 2 |
| Apr | 59 | 30 | 1.0 | 3 |
| May | 69 | 40 | 1.9 | 5 |
| Jun | 77 | 49 | 2.9 | 7 |
| Jul | 85 | 54 | 1.4 | 4 |
| Aug | 85 | 52 | 1.0 | 3 |
| Sep | 74 | 42 | 1.1 | 3 |
| Oct | 60 | 30 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Nov | 43 | 19 | 0.6 | 2 |
| Dec | 31 | 9 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Year | 57 | 30 | 12.5 | 34 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Harlem, MT (2,371 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 Harlem
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 14 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Harlem: 8 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 floods and 2 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 66 mph, on July 3, 2000.
May 7, 2024: flood 8 miles from the centre of Harlem — $1.1 million damage.
NWS: “MT Department of Emergency services reported $1,071,000 in damages to roads and bridges from the combination of rain and snow melt on the Fort Belknap Reservation in Blaine County.”
July 3, 2000: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Harlem — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “machine shop severely damaged.”
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 Harlem's ZIP code 59526 have filed 29 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $36,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1978, with 19. 3% 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, 14 have fewer than Harlem.
Blaine County, which includes Harlem, has been named in 13 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1986, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 floods, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 fire). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm and Straight-Line Winds, on April 7, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Blaine 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 $8.6 million a year, the 28th highest of 56 Montana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.6 million (41%), 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 Harlem
- Chinook, MT21 mi
- Malta, MT45 mi
- Havre, MT49 mi
- Box Elder, MT58 mi
- Glasgow, MT96 mi
- Lewistown, MT105 mi
- Roundup, MT135 mi
- Great Falls, MT137 mi
- Shelby, MT140 mi
- Wolf Point, MT143 mi
- Conrad, MT150 mi
- Cascade, MT164 mi
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