Carter County, MT Environment & Hazard Risk

• WildfireRelatively Low$311K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 269 years
• Winter weatherRelatively Low$71.3K/yr expected annual loss, about 20 events a year
• Cold waveRelatively Low$852K/yr expected annual loss, about 7.4 events a year
• LandslideVery Low$344/yr expected annual loss, about once every 1 year
• HailVery Low$109K/yr expected annual loss, about 2.5 events a year
• DroughtVery Low$4,374/yr expected annual loss, about 70 events a year
• EarthquakeVery Low$16.4K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 2,217 years
• Heat waveVery Low$15.8K/yr expected annual loss, about 1.8 events a year
• TornadoVery Low$53.3K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 3 years
• Ice stormVery Low$3,798/yr expected annual loss, about once every 19 years
• Strong windVery Low$40.5K/yr expected annual loss, about 1.4 events a year
• LightningVery Low$12.3K/yr expected annual loss, about 35 events a year
• AvalancheVery Low$0/yr expected annual loss, about once every 100 years

Bars show the national percentile score (0 to 100) for each hazard. Dollar figures are expected annual losses to buildings, people and crops. Not rated here: coastal flooding, hurricane, riverine flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.

Check the flood zone for an address

Homes in high-risk flood zones

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• Hail282
• Thunderstorm Wind112
• High Wind59
• Winter Storm45
• Blizzard26
• Heavy Snow21
• Funnel Cloud11
• Tornado10
• Heavy Rain7
• Flood6

• Winter Storm05/01/2008

  Carter

  $3M damage

  What happened

  A very strong spring storm system brought significant precipitation to southeast Montana and portions of south central Montana during the first two days of the month. The heaviest precipitation occurred over the higher terrain of southeast Montana. Enough cold air was generated by the storm system that heavy snow developed. In addition, deep surface low pressure that was situated over western South Dakota resulted in strong northwest surface winds. These strong winds that combined with the snow resulted in blizzard conditions and whiteout conditions at times. Total losses for this storm are not known except for Carter County where upwards of $3 million of losses were reported. ||The following is a comprehensive list of snow reports: 12 inches 24SE Ekalaka, Ridgeway, 9 ESE Webster, and in Alzada, 7 inches (2.85 of liquid) in Belltower, 6 inches 12S Plevna, and 10SE Roundup, 6 inches in Volborg with strong winds and wet snow on power poles and power lines causing three power poles to break, 8 inches in Melstone and 1S Red Lodge, 26 inches in Ekalaka (100 power poles down with 90% of the county without power. Highway 7 was closed.), 11 inches 3 ENE Mill Iron and 3E Lame Deer, 24...

• Blizzard03/29/2009

  Carter

  $1.5M damage

  What happened

  Ekalaka received 8-10 inches of snow along with blizzard conditions. Many livestock and new born calves were buried in the snow. Records show $1,049,659 in losses for livestock in Carter County. This figure does not include what would be an average death loss during calving season, this was above and beyond the usual. This number is from about 140 livestock producers in the county. About 60 more producers probably had losses, but did not report or may not have hit the threshold for reporting. The average for producers reporting was about $7500 of loss. It was very stressful for ranchers with back-to-back storms with snow so deep there was no place left to put livestock. However, there were no serious power outages and no lives lost or serious injuries to residents. |In addition, road damage was severe with the county losing two bridges due to flood damage as the snow rapidly melted due to a quick warm-up after the storm. The flooding also did a lot of damage to fences as one rancher reported $80,000 worth of damage to fences alone.

• Flood05/20/2011

  Albion, Carter County

  $320K damage

  What happened

  Record to near record flooding reported on rivers and streams across Carter County. A total of 10 homes were reported as damaged by floodwaters. Damage estimates were based on FEMA reports and Individual Assistance approvals. On Boxelder Creek, at it's highest levels, water was flowing across Highway 277 between Hammond and Ridgeway and across Highway 323 (3 miles north of Belltower) about a half mile wide in spots. On the Little Missouri River, record flooding was reported. Significant flooding noted in the Albion area where one individual had to be rescued as floodwaters surrounded their house. Two dams also breached due to the high waters. Widespread farmland flooding occurred along Thompson Creek in southern Carter County between Ridge and Alzada. Significant erosion and flooding occurred along numerous small stream tributaries all across the county due to the rapid rainfall rates, resulting in considerable damage to county roads. At one point, Hammond Road between Hammond and where it intersects Highway 323 just northeast of Ridgeway was flooded in 7 different places.

• TornadoEF2, 6.6 mi path, 200 yd wide06/29/2018

  Capitol, Carter County

  What happened

  The tornado was on the ground for 7 miles (approximately 24 minutes) from south of Capitol, Montana northeast into South Dakota. In Montana, the tornado path was 3 miles long with a width of 200 yards. Damage ranged from EF-1 at the initial touchdown, increasing to EF-2 just before the South Dakota border. Large tree limbs were downed and trees snapped. The damage became more widespread as the path approached the Little Missouri River. |The maximum wind speed during the life of the tornado was 136 mph (EF-3). The tornado ranged from 200 yards wide in Montana to a half mile wide in South Dakota.

• TornadoEF3, 10 mi path, 880 yd wide06/17/2014

  Capitol, Carter County

  What happened

  A supercell thunderstorm developed very quickly in Eastern Carter County around 2:15 pm. The thunderstorm produced the first ever EF-3 rated tornado in southern Montana. The tornado first touched down at 2:27 pm around 13 miles southwest of Camp Crook, South Dakota, or about 10 miles southwest of Capitol, Montana. The tornado formed in the Sheep Mountains and eventually crossed Tie Creek Road as it moved slowly north. People lost site of the tornado as it entered Custer National Forest around 3:30 pm. ||The tornado was on the ground for an hour and traveled 10 miles and was reported to be a half mile wide at times. The tornado completely destroyed a trailer home, twisting and throwing debris over a mile. A small and old A-frame school house was completely destroyed, with debris blown 100 yards away, leaving only the basement behind. Six vehicles were picked up and tossed up to 200 yards. Around 20 power poles were snapped off with one pulled up out of the ground. In addition, 20 hay bales, weighing 3/4 ton a piece, were blown so far away that they were not recovered. A swath of trees on the north end of the track into the Custer National Forest was flattened by the tornado....

• Ekalaka Town ofServes 400 · Groundwater · Local governmentNo health violations+9 monitoring or reporting