NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Helena, 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 Helena, 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 Helena
The highest rating among the 5 tornadoes within 25 miles is F0, reached 5 times; the most recent, on June 27, 1997, came within 4 miles. Of the 5, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and none has come since 2000. Helena has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 57% of the 73 Montana cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 58 times since 1959, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Helena has more hail reports within 10 miles than 76% of the 73 Montana cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Helena
By decade
- 1990s4
- 1960s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 27, 1997 | F0 | 4 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 1993 | F0 | 19 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 1993 | F0 | 3 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 9, 1992 | F0 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 22, 1960 | F0 | 3 mi | 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 Helena
The Storm Prediction Center has 58 hail reports within 10 miles of Helena since 1959, made on 43 separate days. Of these, 48 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3 inches (tea cup size), was reported on 3 days, most recently June 6, 1997. The most recent report is from July 28, 2025. July has the most reports, 21.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Helena
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Helena Regional Airport, MT, 3 miles southeast of Helena at 3,828 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 55°F; January is the coolest, at 32°F and 14°F. June is the wettest at 2.2 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 11.5 inches over 34 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 27 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 170 nights a year. Snowfall averages 37.2 inches a year, most of it in December. That 11.5 inches is more than at 4 of the 58 Montana stations used on this site (7%). Boulder, 30 miles south, has its own station (Boulder, MT): 10.9 inches a year, 0.6 less than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 32 | 14 | 0.4 | 1 | 6.6 |
| Feb | 37 | 17 | 0.4 | 1 | 6.6 |
| Mar | 48 | 25 | 0.5 | 2 | 4.6 |
| Apr | 57 | 32 | 1.0 | 4 | 2.9 |
| May | 66 | 42 | 2.0 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 75 | 49 | 2.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 55 | 1.1 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 53 | 1.0 | 3 | 0.3 |
| Sep | 73 | 45 | 1.0 | 3 | 0.2 |
| Oct | 58 | 34 | 0.8 | 3 | 2.8 |
| Nov | 43 | 23 | 0.6 | 2 | 5.4 |
| Dec | 33 | 14 | 0.5 | 2 | 7.7 |
| Year | 58 | 33 | 11.5 | 34 | 37.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Helena Regional Airport, MT (3,828 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 Helena
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 74 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Helena: 39 thunderstorm wind reports, 21 heavy rain events, 7 flash floods, 6 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $861,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on July 13, 2000. July has had the most flash floods, 5 of 7. Of the 42 Montana cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 36 have had fewer than Helena.
June 11, 2023: lightning strike 5 miles from the centre of Helena — 2 injured.
July 3, 2022: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Helena — $700,000 damage.
NWS: “Significant flash flooding across downtown and Last Chance Gulch area. Severe businesses sustained damage, including Helena YWCA and the Lewis and Clark Library.”
April 9, 2023: flood 7 miles from the centre of Helena — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Office reported the high bridge over the Dearborn River was washed out. Public works closed the road at Flat Creek.”
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 Helena's 2 ZIP codes have filed 90 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $385,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2018, with 34. Of the 26 Montana cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 20 have fewer than Helena.
Lewis and Clark County, which includes Helena, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1975, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 fires, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 31, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Lewis and Clark County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for lightning; Relatively Low for inland flooding and strong wind; Very Low for tornadoes, hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $34.8 million a year, the 7th highest of 56 Montana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $12.4 million (35%), 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 Helena
- East Helena, MT7 mi
- Clancy, MT11 mi
- Boulder, MT30 mi
- Townsend, MT32 mi
- Deer Lodge, MT39 mi
- Cascade, MT43 mi
- Butte, MT51 mi
- Whitehall, MT55 mi
- Three Forks, MT56 mi
- Anaconda, MT58 mi
- Manhattan, MT66 mi
- Belgrade, MT67 mi
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