NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lakeside, 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 Lakeside, 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 Lakeside
The highest rating among the 5 tornadoes within 25 miles is EF0, reached 5 times; the most recent, on November 4, 2013, came within 8 miles. Of the 5, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 5 have come since 2000. Lakeside has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 57% of the 73 Montana cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 13 times since 1989, with stones up to 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size). Of the 73 Montana cities, 73% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Lakeside.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Lakeside
By decade
- 2010s2
- 2000s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 4, 2013 | EF0 | 8 mi | 0.75 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 1, 2011 | EF0 | 18 mi | 0.73 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 9, 2008 | EF0 | 16 mi | 0.01 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 18, 2007 | EF0 | 6 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 18, 2007 | EF0 | 9 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 Lakeside
The Storm Prediction Center has 13 hail reports within 10 miles of Lakeside since 1989, made on 12 separate days. Of these, 8 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size), fell on July 9, 2022, the most recent report. July has the most reports, 5.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Lakeside
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Bigfork 13 S, MT, 13 miles southeast of Lakeside at 2,979 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 55°F; January is the coolest, at 34°F and 25°F. June is the wettest at 3.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.0 inches; the year adds up to 21.3 inches over 56 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 5 days a year, almost all from July to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 127 nights a year. That 21.3 inches is more than at 52 of the 58 Montana stations used on this site (90%). Kalispell, 14 miles north, has its own station (Kalispell Glacier Airport, MT): 16.8 inches a year, 4.5 less than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 25 | 1.7 | 5 |
| Feb | 37 | 26 | 1.0 | 3 |
| Mar | 45 | 30 | 1.3 | 4 |
| Apr | 53 | 35 | 1.8 | 5 |
| May | 63 | 43 | 2.5 | 6 |
| Jun | 70 | 49 | 3.2 | 7 |
| Jul | 80 | 55 | 1.3 | 4 |
| Aug | 79 | 54 | 1.1 | 3 |
| Sep | 69 | 47 | 1.7 | 4 |
| Oct | 55 | 38 | 2.4 | 5 |
| Nov | 42 | 32 | 1.7 | 5 |
| Dec | 34 | 26 | 1.6 | 5 |
| Year | 55 | 38 | 21.3 | 56 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Bigfork 13 S, MT (2,979 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 Lakeside
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 14 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lakeside: 11 thunderstorm wind reports, 1 flood, 1 heavy rain event and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $907,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on July 18, 2007.
July 22, 2000: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Lakeside — 1 killed, 1 injured.
May 31, 2020: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Lakeside — 1 injured, $450,000 damage.
NWS: “Widespread high winds were reported as a line of thunderstorms, in the form of a squall line, moved north-northeastward across the region.”
July 18, 2007: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Lakeside — $300,000 damage.
NWS: “Numerous trees and power poles were blown down along the northern shores of Flathead lake. The roof to Carpenter's Arena near Kalispell was blown off.”
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
Flathead County, which includes Lakeside, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 fires, 3 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 Flathead County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes, hail and strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $75.4 million a year, the highest of 56 Montana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $23.8 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 Lakeside
- Bigfork, MT13 mi
- Kalispell, MT14 mi
- Polson, MT22 mi
- Whitefish, MT29 mi
- Columbia Falls, MT30 mi
- Ronan, MT33 mi
- St Ignatius, MT48 mi
- Thompson Falls, MT50 mi
- Arlee, MT58 mi
- Trout Creek, MT64 mi
- Browning, MT66 mi
- Frenchtown, MT66 mi
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