NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Laurel, 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 Laurel, Montana since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 17 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 17
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Laurel
The strongest of the 17 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on June 16, 1965; its path came within 15 miles. Of the 17, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 4 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 9. The most recent tornado was on June 6, 2011. Laurel has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 89% of the 73 Montana cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 92 times since 1957, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Laurel has more hail reports within 10 miles than 93% of the 73 Montana cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Laurel
By decade
- 2010s3
- 2000s1
- 1990s4
- 1980s1
- 1970s4
- 1960s2(1 EF3+)
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 16, 1965 | F3 | 15 mi | 20.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 2010 | EF2 | 16 mi | 0.69 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 2, 1958 | F2 | 16 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 21, 1991 | F1 | 13 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 12, 1958 | F1 | 3 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 6, 2011 | EF0 | 24 mi | 0.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 6, 2011 | EF0 | 12 mi | 0.01 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 11, 2005 | F0 | 12 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 4, 1998 | F0 | 16 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 20, 1997 | F0 | 6 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 1991 | F0 | 4 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 23, 1988 | F0 | 24 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 17, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Laurel
The Storm Prediction Center has 92 hail reports within 10 miles of Laurel since 1957, made on 54 separate days. Of these, 56 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on May 21, 2016. The most recent report is from August 7, 2025. July has the most reports, 36.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Laurel
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Billings WFO, MT, 11 miles northeast of Laurel at 3,185 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 57°F; January is the coolest, at 37°F and 15°F. Highs reach 90°F on about 41 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 158 nights a year. Snowfall averages 48.2 inches a year, most of it in February. That 14.9 inches is more than at 32 of the 58 Montana stations used on this site (55%). Park City, 10 miles west, has its own station (Joliet, MT): 14.6 inches a year, 0.3 less than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 89°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37 | 15 | 0.6 | 2 | 9.2 |
| Feb | 41 | 18 | 0.6 | 3 | 9.6 |
| Mar | 51 | 25 | 1.0 | 3 | 7.2 |
| Apr | 59 | 34 | 1.8 | 5 | 3.7 |
| May | 69 | 43 | 2.5 | 6 | 0.4 |
| Jun | 79 | 51 | 2.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 89 | 57 | 1.4 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 87 | 55 | 0.8 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 46 | 1.4 | 4 | 0.3 |
| Oct | 61 | 35 | 1.5 | 4 | 3.5 |
| Nov | 47 | 24 | 0.6 | 2 | 5.6 |
| Dec | 37 | 17 | 0.6 | 2 | 8.7 |
| Year | 61 | 35 | 14.9 | 40 | 48.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Billings WFO, MT (3,185 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 Laurel
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 33 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Laurel: 29 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 flash floods and 1 flood. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 26, 2001.
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 Laurel's ZIP code 59044 have filed 53 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $805,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Yellowstone Flooding in 2022: 11 claims (21% of all) and $334,000. 21% 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, 17 have fewer than Laurel.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Yellowstone Flooding2022 | 11 | $334,000 |
Yellowstone County, which includes Laurel, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1978, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 fires, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 2 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storm and Flooding, on June 16, 2022. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Yellowstone County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $60.1 million a year, the 3rd highest of 56 Montana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $29.3 million (49%), 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 Laurel
- Park City, MT10 mi
- Billings, MT13 mi
- Joliet, MT14 mi
- Columbus, MT25 mi
- Huntley, MT26 mi
- Shepherd, MT30 mi
- Red Lodge, MT40 mi
- Hardin, MT54 mi
- Big Timber, MT58 mi
- Powell, WY61 mi
- Roundup, MT61 mi
- Lovell, WY64 mi
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