Montana, 1997
The year's recorded storm events, federal disaster declarations and flood insurance claims.
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.
Events by hazard
Includes events recorded by forecast zone. The state's yearly total for 1997 was 601 against 625 in 1996.
Counties with the most recorded events
Notable events
| Date | County | Event type | Magnitude | Property damage | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Nov 1997 | Forecast zone | Ice Storm | — | — | 2 | — |
| 8 Jan 1997 | Forecast zone | Cold/Wind Chill | — | — | 1 | — |
| 21 Jul 1997 | Lincoln | Thunderstorm Wind | 81 mph | $1,500,000 | — | 2 |
| 1 May 1997 | Forecast zone | Flood | — | $912,000 | — | — |
| 1 May 1997 | Forecast zone | Flood | — | $726,000 | — | — |
| 1 May 1997 | Forecast zone | Flood | — | $543,000 | — | — |
| 20 Mar 1997 | Richland | Flood | — | $280,000 | — | — |
| 1 Jul 1997 | Richland | Flash Flood | — | $269,000 | — | — |
| 8 May 1997 | Forecast zone | Heavy Snow | — | $200,000 | — | — |
| 28 Aug 1997 | Valley | Thunderstorm Wind | — | $100,000 | — | — |
| 1 May 1997 | Forecast zone | Flood | — | $69,000 | — | — |
| 1 Jul 1997 | Prairie | Flash Flood | — | $50,000 | — | — |
| 28 Aug 1997 | Valley | Hail | 0.75 in | $50,000 | — | — |
| 27 Jun 1997 | Lewis and Clark | Tornado | F0 | $2,000 | — | — |
| 20 Jul 1997 | Yellowstone | Tornado | F0 | — | — | — |
| 19 Jul 1997 | Beaverhead | Tornado | F0 | — | — | — |
| 2 Jul 1997 | Gallatin | Tornado | F0 | — | — | — |
| 2 Jul 1997 | Gallatin | Tornado | F0 | — | — | — |
| 17 Jul 1997 | Valley | Tornado | F0 | — | — | — |
| 5 Jun 1997 | Wheatland | Tornado | F0 | — | — | — |
| 6 Jun 1997 | Fergus | Tornado | F0 | — | — | — |
| 15 Sep 1997 | Deer Lodge | Tornado | F0 | — | — | — |
Up to 40 events with deaths, injuries, damage of $50,000 or more, or a tornado rating, ranked by deaths, injuries and damage.
Federal disaster declarations in 1997
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 Jul 1997 | DR-1183 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storms,Ice Jams, Snow Melt, Flooding | 23 |
Flood insurance claims with a 1997 date of loss
405 NFIP claims, 332 of them paid, for $2,330,402.
Sources: NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 (29 Sep 2026); OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 (8 Sep 2026). Built 30 Sep 2026.