Natural hazards · Montana

Montana, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Montana comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Montana?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Montana to be higher than in 53% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding47%Cold waves20%Tornadoes11%Hail9%Strong wind5%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Montana faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

47% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

20% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 51% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Hail

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Montana flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Montana.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Montana isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Buffalo County.

Disasters that hit Montana

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Montana itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Town of Montana.

Brought FEMA money into MontanaDeclared for Buffalo County only

2010

Severe Storms and Flooding

$14K to the Town of Montana for repairs

Buffalo County has had 14 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Montana

Montana and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Burnsidemostly inland floodingHigh

Montanamostly inland floodingModerate

Dovermostly inland floodingModerate

Glencoemostly inland floodingModerate

Waumandeemostly inland floodingModerate

Lincolnmostly inland floodingLow

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Montana is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Montana’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Montana. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.