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Idaho

The recorded hazard history of every county in Idaho: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, and National Flood Insurance Program claims since 1978.

Idaho has 12,071 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950 across 44 counties, led by winter storms and snow: 14.6 per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally.

NCEI attributes 134 deaths and 434 injuries to those events, with property damage estimated at $1.1B. By events per 100 square miles the leading counties are Bannock, Madison and Jefferson.

FEMA lists 61 disaster declarations touching the state since 1953, most recently Tartar Fire (2 Aug 2026). NFIP policyholders filed 1,116 flood claims since 1978, $10M paid; 3,768 residential policies are in force.

580events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

12,071events since 195014.6 per 100 sq mi (US 56.0)

61disaster declarations since 1953last 2 Aug 2026

1,116NFIP flood claims$10M paid

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. Storm records through 30 Jun 2026; declarations refreshed 29 Sep 2026; claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Compared with the United States

Measure	Idaho	US
Recorded events since 1950	12,071	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	14.6	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	63.5	59.6
Deaths recorded by NCEI	134	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$1.1B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	0.6	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$14K	$43K
Residential flood policies in force	3,768	3,139,862

Hazard mix

Winter4,944

Wind3,559

Hail1,113

Flood790

Other630

Wildfire431

Tornado224

Cold189

Lightning76

Heat70

Fog27

Drought18

Hazard	Events	Share of US	Deaths
■ Winter	4,944	1.7%	45
■ Wind	3,559	0.5%	25
■ Hail	1,113	0.3%	2
■ Flood	790	0.4%	3
■ Other	630	1.4%	40
■ Wildfire	431	4.5%	6
■ Tornado	224	0.3%	—
■ Cold	189	0.4%	4
■ Lightning	76	0.4%	4
■ Heat	70	0.1%	2
■ Fog	27	0.1%	3
■ Drought	18	0.0%	—

Events by decade

Hail: 10Tornado: 13Wind: 31

Hail: 53Tornado: 16Wind: 49

Hail: 47Tornado: 7Wind: 96

Hail: 60Tornado: 42Wind: 205

Hail: 282Tornado: 59Flood: 126Wind: 356Winter: 400Cold: 4Wildfire: 28Lightning: 31Fog: 3Other: 123

Hail: 282Tornado: 51Flood: 167Wind: 678Winter: 1525Heat: 18Cold: 58Drought: 18Wildfire: 99Lightning: 13Fog: 8Other: 54

Hail: 249Tornado: 28Flood: 375Wind: 712Winter: 1802Heat: 9Cold: 60Wildfire: 197Lightning: 17Fog: 8Other: 231

Hail: 130Tornado: 8Flood: 122Wind: 1432Winter: 1217Heat: 43Cold: 67Wildfire: 107Lightning: 15Fog: 8Other: 222

541950s1181960s1501970s3071980s1,4121990s2,9712000s3,6882010s3,3712020s

Recorded events in Idaho by decade and hazard group, including events recorded by forecast zone. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterHeatColdDroughtWildfireLightningFogOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Counties by events per 100 square miles

County	Events	Last 12 mo	Per 100 sq mi	Per 10k residents	Dominant	Tornadoes	Hail	Declarations	NFIP claims	NRI risk
Bannock County	312	26	28.0	35.3	Wind	6	80	5	40	Relatively Low
Madison County	117	7	24.9	21.7	Wind	6	20	5	9	Relatively Low
Jefferson County	245	19	22.4	76.1	Wind	18	29	6	18	Very Low
Ada County	222	14	21.1	4.3	Wind	13	41	6	133	Relatively Moderate
Canyon County	122	1	20.8	5.0	Wind	6	27	4	29	Relatively Low
Teton County	76	9	16.9	62.0	Wind	1	18	3	4	Very Low
Minidoka County	124	17	16.4	56.5	Wind	5	19	5	5	Very Low
Nez Perce County	126	0	14.9	29.7	Wind	3	31	15	6	Very Low
Bingham County	297	23	14.2	60.8	Wind	20	43	7	31	Relatively Low
Power County	199	15	14.2	250.3	Wind	17	29	5	0	Very Low
Payette County	51	0	12.5	19.4	Wind	2	10	6	26	Very Low
Bonneville County	230	10	12.3	18.0	Wind	6	44	7	17	Relatively Moderate
Butte County	275	32	12.3	1,036.2	Wind	8	26	6	0	Very Low
Kootenai County	135	0	10.9	7.5	Wind	2	23	18	91	Relatively Low
Lewis County	51	0	10.7	137.3	Hail	1	24	12	0	Very Low
Cassia County	249	14	9.7	99.0	Wind	10	59	5	2	Relatively Low
Latah County	99	1	9.2	24.6	Flood	4	20	16	61	Very Low
Bear Lake County	84	14	8.6	128.3	Wind	2	12	4	0	Very Low
Jerome County	51	2	8.5	20.7	Wind	6	12	6	1	Very Low
Franklin County	56	8	8.4	38.2	Wind	4	18	4	1	Very Low
Fremont County	156	8	8.4	114.8	Wind	5	41	5	7	Very Low
Gem County	46	1	8.2	23.2	Wind	4	12	7	4	Very Low
Oneida County	95	13	7.9	206.0	Wind	3	11	3	1	Very Low
Twin Falls County	148	4	7.7	16.0	Wind	12	48	4	16	Relatively Low
Bonner County	125	2	7.2	25.3	Wind	4	29	18	40	Relatively Low
Lincoln County	81	1	6.7	153.4	Wind	4	12	7	5	Very Low
Benewah County	50	0	6.4	50.3	Flood	0	13	16	34	Very Low
Gooding County	46	0	6.3	29.2	Wind	6	12	7	6	Very Low
Caribou County	108	15	6.1	151.9	Hail	4	44	5	1	Very Low
Boise County	99	3	5.2	122.3	Wind	0	21	7	1	Relatively Low
Boundary County	66	1	5.2	52.5	Wind	0	14	12	3	Very Low
Clark County	87	16	4.9	1,098.5	Wind	6	10	4	0	Very Low
Blaine County	117	8	4.4	47.2	Wind	6	9	10	309	Relatively Low
Elmore County	131	5	4.3	45.4	Wind	5	18	11	11	Relatively Low
Clearwater County	96	3	3.9	107.9	Wind	1	35	15	8	Relatively Low
Washington County	54	0	3.7	49.6	Wind	3	10	10	23	Very Low
Shoshone County	95	1	3.6	69.8	Wind	1	17	16	108	Relatively Low
Lemhi County	135	1	3.0	165.4	Wind	3	32	5	24	Very Low
Adams County	36	2	2.6	77.8	Wind	3	7	9	4	Very Low
Camas County	26	2	2.4	228.3	Wind	4	6	8	0	Very Low
Valley County	73	7	2.0	59.6	Wind	0	15	12	1	Relatively Low
Idaho County	159	6	1.9	93.3	Hail	2	67	18	5	Relatively Low
Custer County	73	8	1.5	164.9	Wind	2	11	7	1	Relatively Low
Owyhee County	116	1	1.5	94.0	Wind	5	27	6	0	Relatively Low

Events are county-recorded plus zone-recorded events whose zone is named for the county. NRI risk is FEMA's National Risk Index overall rating (December 2025).

Counties by flood claims per 100 policies in force

County	Claims, last 10 years	Policies in force	Claims per 100 policies	Claims since 1978	Paid
Blaine County	193	377	51.2	309	$3.9M
Latah County	30	118	25.4	61	$744K
Kootenai County	11	209	5.3	91	$746K
Bonner County	5	135	3.7	40	$156K
Ada County	52	1,541	3.4	133	$499K
Canyon County	7	350	2.0	29	$102K
Shoshone County	2	119	1.7	108	$926K

Counties with at least 100 residential policies in force. Claims by year of loss in the ten years to 2026, divided by residential policies in force as of 3 Aug 2026; a rough ratio, since policies in force today differ from those in force when the losses occurred.

Federal disaster declarations by year

195319902026

Declarations touching Idaho by year declared, 1953 to 2026; each disaster number counted once.

Incident type	Declarations
Fire	26
Flood	18
Severe Storm	9
Biological	2
Straight-Line Winds	1
Hurricane	1
Snowstorm	1
Earthquake	1
Volcanic Eruption	1
Drought	1

Most recent declarations (each disaster number once, with the number of counties designated):

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Counties
2 Aug 2026	FM-5660	Fire management assistance	Fire	Tartar Fire	1
30 Jun 2026	DR-4917	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	6
7 Apr 2026	DR-4905	Major disaster	Straight-Line Winds	Straight-Line Winds	10
15 Aug 2025	FM-5607	Fire management assistance	Fire	Sunset Fire	1
26 Jul 2024	FM-5520	Fire management assistance	Fire	Gwen Fire	2
16 Jul 2024	FM-5510	Fire management assistance	Fire	Texas Fire	2
10 Jun 2024	DR-4789	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	3
5 Sep 2022	FM-5452	Fire management assistance	Fire	Ross Fork Fire	1
19 Aug 2022	FM-5449	Fire management assistance	Fire	Four Corners Fire	3
13 Aug 2021	FM-5407	Fire management assistance	Fire	Bedrock Fire	1
4 Mar 2021	DR-4589	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Straight-Line Winds	4
9 Apr 2020	DR-4534	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	44
13 Mar 2020	EM-3467	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	44
12 Jun 2019	DR-4443	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	5
29 Jul 2018	FM-5263	Fire management assistance	Fire	Grassy Ridge Fire	1

Flood insurance claims by year

197820022026

NFIP claims in Idaho by year of loss, 1978 to 2026.

1,116 claims, 766 paid, $10M in total; 36 repetitive-loss and 2 severe repetitive-loss properties. ZIP codes in Idaho with flood claims (43).

Year by year

Each year's events, declarations and claims: 2026 · 2025 · 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018 · 2017 · 2016 · 2015 · 2014 · 2013 · 2012 · 2011 · 2010 · 2009 · 2008 · 2007 · 2006 · 2005 · 2004 · 2003 · 2002 · 2001 · 2000 · 1999 · 1998 · 1997 · and earlier years back to 1954

Questions and answers

Which Idaho counties have the most recorded tornadoes?

Bingham (20), Jefferson (18) and Power (17), by NCEI count since 1950. Larger counties record more events; the state table also ranks by events per 100 square miles.

Which Idaho counties have the most flood insurance claims?

Blaine (309), Ada (133) and Shoshone (108) since 1978, in the OpenFEMA NFIP claims file.

How many federal disaster declarations has Idaho had?

61 declarations since 1953 (major disaster, emergency and fire management assistance declarations combined), 3 of them in 2026 so far.

How does Idaho compare with the national rate?

14.6 recorded events per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally; 0.6 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 8.1.

Provenance

NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 refreshed 29 Sep 2026; OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026); FEMA National Risk Index December 2025; US Census Bureau 2021 population and area. Built 30 Sep 2026. Methodology.