States › Montana › Sanders County
Sanders County, Montana
Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.
NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.
The NCEI record lists 66 events for Sanders County, Montana, between 1950 and 2026; damaging wind account for the largest share.
That is 2.4 events per 100 square miles, below the Montana figure of 24.9, and 50.9 per 10,000 residents against 328.5 statewide.
3 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 0 deaths and 1 injury to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $231K and crop damage at $5K.
FEMA has designated the county in 16 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Winter Storm And Straight-Line Winds (major disaster, 7 Apr 2026).
National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 9 claims since 1978, of which 5 were paid, totalling $223K (about $45K per paid claim). FEMA counts 26 residential flood policies in force.
FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Low" and its expected annual loss as "Very Low" ($9.0M a year across 18 hazards).
Compared with Montana and the United States
| Measure | Sanders County | Montana | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recorded events since 1950 | 66 | 36,277 | 1,977,440 |
| Events per 100 square miles | 2.4 | 24.9 | 56.0 |
| Events per 10,000 residents | 50.9 | 328.5 | 59.6 |
| Events in the last 12 months | 3 | 1,522 | 62,008 |
| Deaths recorded by NCEI | 0 | 166 | 26,435 |
| Property damage (NCEI estimates) | $231K | $369M | $575B |
| NFIP claims per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 2.0 | 8.1 |
| Average paid NFIP claim | $45K | $12K | $43K |
| Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years | 0.0 | 9.8 | 16.1 |
County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.
Events by decade
Trend: 37 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 24 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.
Events by type
Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.
Largest recorded events
| Date | Event type | Group | Magnitude | Property damage | Crop damage | Deaths | Injuries | Geography |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Mar 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wind | 61 mph | $5K | — | — | 1 | County |
| 11 Dec 2025 | Flood | Flood | — | $100K | — | — | — | County |
Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.
Federal disaster declarations
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Apr 2026 | DR-4902 | Major disaster | Straight-Line Winds | Severe Winter Storm And Straight-Line Winds | Public assistance |
| 19 Dec 2025 | EM-3630 | Emergency | Flood | Severe Storms And Flooding | Public assistance |
| 19 Aug 2023 | FM-5480 | Fire management assistance | Fire | River Road East Fire | Public assistance |
| 31 Mar 2020 | DR-4508 | Major disaster | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic | Individual assistance, Public assistance |
| 13 Mar 2020 | EM-3476 | Emergency | Biological | Covid-19 | Public assistance |
| 10 Sep 2017 | FM-5211 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Moose Peak Fire | Public assistance |
| 10 Sep 2017 | FM-5210 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Highway 200 Fire Complex | Public assistance |
| 17 Apr 2014 | DR-4172 | Major disaster | Flood | Ice Jams And Flooding | Public assistance |
| 13 Sep 2005 | EM-3253 | Emergency | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Public assistance |
| 12 Aug 2003 | FM-2489 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Mt-Cherry Creek Fire -08/06/03 | Public assistance |
| 30 Aug 2000 | DR-1340 | Major disaster | Fire | Wildfires | Individual assistance |
| 14 Aug 2000 | FM-2320 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Mt - Northwestern Zone 1 Fire Complex | Public assistance |
| 25 Jul 1997 | DR-1183 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storms,Ice Jams, Snow Melt, Flooding | Public assistance |
| 23 Feb 1996 | DR-1105 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Flooding, And Ice Jams | Public assistance |
| 15 Mar 1986 | DR-761 | Major disaster | Flood | Heavy Rains, Landslides & Flooding | Public assistance |
| 29 Jan 1974 | DR-417 | Major disaster | Flood | Severe Storms, Flooding & Landslides | Individual assistance, Public assistance |
Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.
Flood insurance claims
| Year of loss | Claims | Paid claims | Amount paid | Average paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 2 | 1 | $1,188 | $1,188 |
| 1997 | 7 | 4 | $221,843 | $55,461 |
OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).
National Risk Index
| Hazard (NRI) | Risk rating | Expected annual loss |
|---|---|---|
| Inland flooding | $5,763,953 | |
| Cold wave | $1,089,674 | |
| Wildfire | $968,872 | |
| Earthquake | $421,938 | |
| Ice storm | $222,649 | |
| Winter weather | $212,225 | |
| Landslide | $149,332 | |
| Heat wave | $85,649 | |
| Lightning | $37,590 | |
| Strong wind | $31,612 | |
| Tornado | $10,086 | |
| Hail | $6,230 | |
| Drought | $2,389 | |
| Avalanche | $1,924 |
FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.
Hurricane and tropical storm passes
No HURDAT2 track at tropical-storm strength passes within 100 miles of the county's centre point (through the 2025 season).
ZIP codes with flood claims
- 59859 8
ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.
Questions and answers
How often does it hail in Sanders County, MT?
NCEI records 23 hail events in Sanders County since 1950, in 12 different years; that is about 0.3 recorded events a year. 6 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.
Has Sanders County had a tornado?
Yes. NCEI records 1 tornado in Sanders County since 1950, 0 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.
When was the last federal disaster declaration for Sanders County?
7 Apr 2026: Severe Winter Storm And Straight-Line Winds, a major disaster declaration for straight-line winds. The county appears in 16 declarations since 1953.
How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Sanders County, and how much was paid?
9 NFIP claims since 1978, 5 of them paid, for $223K in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.
Is Sanders County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?
FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively Low" for overall risk, "Very Low" for expected annual loss, "Very High" for social vulnerability and "Very Low" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.
How does Sanders County compare with the rest of Montana?
2.4 recorded events per 100 square miles against 24.9 statewide, and 0.7 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 2.0. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.
Provenance
Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 1 Oct 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.