Montana, 2003
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 2003 was 887 against 1,147 in 2002.
Counties with the most recorded events
Notable events
| Date | County | Event type | Magnitude | Property damage | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Aug 2003 | Lewis and Clark | Lightning | — | — | — | 5 |
| 16 Aug 2003 | Missoula | Dust Devil | — | — | — | 3 |
| 26 Dec 2003 | Dawson | Blizzard | — | — | — | 2 |
| 2 Jul 2003 | Dawson | Thunderstorm Wind | 69 mph | $380,000 | — | 1 |
| 14 Mar 2003 | Sanders | Thunderstorm Wind | 61 mph | $5,000 | — | 1 |
| 17 Dec 2003 | Dawson | High Wind | 48 mph | — | — | 1 |
| 20 Jun 2003 | Richland | Lightning | — | — | — | 1 |
| 9 Aug 2003 | Valley | Hail | 2.00 in | — | — | 1 |
| 16 Jul 2003 | Garfield | Wildfire | — | $2,900,000 | — | — |
| 6 Aug 2003 | Sweet Grass | Wildfire | — | $1,000,000 | — | — |
| 12 Mar 2003 | Gallatin | Flood | — | $500,000 | — | — |
| 16 Aug 2003 | Stillwater | Wildfire | — | $250,000 | — | — |
| 1 Sep 2003 | Stillwater | Wildfire | — | $250,000 | — | — |
| 16 Aug 2003 | Missoula | Wildfire | — | $250,000 | — | — |
| 12 Mar 2003 | Forecast zone | Flood | — | $250,000 | — | — |
| 19 Jun 2003 | Cascade | Flash Flood | — | $250,000 | — | — |
| 12 Aug 2003 | Forecast zone | Wildfire | — | $200,000 | — | — |
| 20 Jun 2003 | Hill | Thunderstorm Wind | 60 mph | $200,000 | — | — |
| 17 Mar 2003 | Roosevelt | Flash Flood | — | $115,000 | — | — |
| 16 Mar 2003 | Richland | Flood | — | $75,000 | — | — |
| 19 Jun 2003 | Cascade | Thunderstorm Wind | 70 mph | $60,000 | — | — |
| 8 Jul 2003 | Garfield | Tornado | F0 | — | — | — |
| 8 Jul 2003 | Garfield | Tornado | F0 | — | — | — |
| 22 Apr 2003 | Judith Basin | Tornado | F1 | — | — | — |
| 25 Apr 2003 | Fergus | Tornado | F0 | — | — | — |
| 26 Jul 2003 | Yellowstone | Tornado | F0 | — | — | — |
| 6 Aug 2003 | Garfield | 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 2003
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Aug 2003 | FM-2494 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Mt-Flathead Fire Zone-8/20/03 | 1 |
| 20 Aug 2003 | FM-2492 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Mt-Lincoln Fire Complex - 08/14/2003 | 2 |
| 12 Aug 2003 | FM-2490 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Mt-Missoula/Mineral Fire Zone-08/08/03 | 2 |
| 12 Aug 2003 | FM-2489 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Mt-Cherry Creek Fire -08/06/03 | 1 |
| 11 Aug 2003 | FM-2488 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Mt-Hobble Fire-08/07/2003 | 1 |
| 25 Jul 2003 | FM-2485 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Mt-Wedge Canyon Fire-07/18/2003 | 1 |
| 25 Jul 2003 | FM-2484 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Mt-Robert Fire-07-23-03 | 1 |
| 23 Jul 2003 | FM-2483 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Mt - Missouri Breaks Complex Fire 07/16/03 | 1 |
Flood insurance claims with a 2003 date of loss
11 NFIP claims, 7 of them paid, for $63,256.
Sources: NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 (1 Oct 2026); OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 (8 Sep 2026). Built 1 Oct 2026.