NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Townsend, 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 Townsend, Montana since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 2 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 2
- 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 Townsend
The highest rating among the 2 tornadoes within 25 miles is F0, reached 2 times; the most recent, on June 15, 1996, came within 15 miles. Of the 73 Montana cities on this site, 73% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Townsend. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 10 times since 2002, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 73 Montana cities, 84% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Townsend.
Compare Townsend's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Townsend
By decade
- 1990s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 15, 1996 | F0 | 15 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 12, 1992 | F0 | 8 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 2 of 2, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Townsend
The Storm Prediction Center has 10 hail reports within 10 miles of Townsend since 2002, made on 6 separate days. Of these, 8 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on August 10, 2019. The most recent report is from August 25, 2022. August has the most reports, 8.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Townsend
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Townsend 3SE, MT, 7 miles south of Townsend at 3,964 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 52°F; January is the coolest, at 34°F and 14°F. Highs reach 90°F on about 14 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 174 nights a year. Snowfall averages 23.7 inches a year, most of it in January and December. That 10.7 inches is more than at 0 of the 58 Montana stations used on this site (0%). East Helena, 24 miles northwest, has its own station (Helena Regional Airport, MT): 11.5 inches a year, 0.8 more than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 14 | 0.3 | 1 | 4.4 |
| Feb | 39 | 17 | 0.3 | 1 | 3.2 |
| Mar | 49 | 24 | 0.4 | 1 | 4.0 |
| Apr | 58 | 31 | 0.9 | 3 | 2.3 |
| May | 67 | 39 | 1.8 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 74 | 47 | 2.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 52 | 1.2 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 50 | 1.1 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 42 | 0.8 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 59 | 32 | 0.7 | 2 | 1.4 |
| Nov | 44 | 22 | 0.4 | 1 | 3.9 |
| Dec | 34 | 14 | 0.3 | 1 | 4.4 |
| Year | 58 | 32 | 10.7 | 32 | 23.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Townsend 3SE, MT (3,964 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 Townsend
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 22 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Townsend: 20 thunderstorm wind reports, 1 flood and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 0. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 82 mph, on July 14, 2002.
May 18, 2007: lightning strike 4 miles from the centre of Townsend — 1 killed.
NWS: “Man fishing alone in boat on southern Canyon Ferry Resevoir, on east shore across from Silos, struck and killed by lightning around 320 pm MDT.”
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
Broadwater County, which includes Townsend, has been named in 12 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1975, 8 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 fires, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm and Straight-Line Winds, on April 7, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Broadwater County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for lightning; Very Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $5.9 million a year, the 33rd highest of 56 Montana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.0 million (34%), 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 Townsend
- East Helena, MT24 mi
- Clancy, MT26 mi
- Helena, MT32 mi
- Boulder, MT32 mi
- Three Forks, MT34 mi
- Belgrade, MT40 mi
- Manhattan, MT41 mi
- Whitehall, MT51 mi
- Bozeman, MT52 mi
- Butte, MT58 mi
- Cascade, MT59 mi
- Deer Lodge, MT61 mi
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