Park County, MT Environment & Hazard Risk

• AvalancheVery High$11.55M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 1 year
• LandslideRelatively Moderate$264K/yr expected annual loss, about 2.6 events a year
• WildfireRelatively Moderate$2.7M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 431 years
• Winter weatherRelatively Moderate$256K/yr expected annual loss, about 22 events a year
• EarthquakeRelatively Low$1.36M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 52 years
• Cold waveRelatively Moderate$2.29M/yr expected annual loss, about 1.3 events a year
• LightningRelatively Moderate$364K/yr expected annual loss, about 39 events a year
• HailRelatively Low$223K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 1 year
• DroughtVery Low$10.02K/yr expected annual loss, about 70 events a year
• Volcanic activityVery Low$0/yr expected annual loss, about once every 10,000 years
• Heat waveVery Low$52.49K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 3 years
• Ice stormVery Low$6,412/yr expected annual loss, about once every 67 years
• Strong windVery Low$73.41K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 2 years
• TornadoVery Low$51.29K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 20 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.

Check the flood zone for an address

Homes with flood insurance

95 of 11,294 (0.8%)

Homes in high-risk flood zones

520

Insured in high-risk zones

56 (11%)

Flood claims since 1978

141

Claims paid since 1978

$3.29M

• Winter Storm340
• High Wind174
• Thunderstorm Wind137
• Heavy Snow91
• Hail53
• Wildfire15
• Avalanche12 · 10 deaths
• Blizzard10
• Flood6
• Drought5

• Avalanche12/27/2021

  Absaroka / Beartooth Mountains

  1 death, 2 injured

  What happened

  Please see episode narrative.

• Avalanche02/19/2022

  Absaroka / Beartooth Mountains

  1 death, 1 injured

  What happened

  Please see Episode Narrative.

• Avalanche11/26/2014

  Absarokee / Beartooth Mountains

  1 death

  What happened

  A group of seven snowmobilers was riding north of Cooke City when an 18 year old from Minnesota was caught in an avalanche on a steep, northwest facing slope on Crown Butte outside Cooke City. The victim was stopped on the slope while two others were riding on it when the avalanche was triggered. The others rode off, but the victim was caught and buried. Neither he, nor anyone in his party of seven, was wearing a beacon. He was fully buried and Cooke City Search and Rescue located him with a probe pole under six feet of debris near the toe of the avalanche about 1.5-2 hours later. |The avalanche broke 700 feet wide and 2-5 feet deep on depth hoar crystals about 1 foot above the ground. The avalanche ran 800 feet vertical and 1600 feet slope distance. Debris ranged from 5 to 15 feet deep and covered an area 900 by 400 feet. Slope angles in the starting zone ranged from 36 to 38 degrees. For a more detailed report, please see the avalanche incidents report at http://www.mtavalanche.com.

• Avalanche12/19/2015

  Absarokee / Beartooth Mountains

  1 death

  What happened

  A snowmobiler died in an avalanche on Saturday, December 19th outside Cooke City. The avalanche occurred on the southeast face of Sheep Mountain between Lulu Pass and Round Lake. The slide was triggered from low on the slope by the victim who was subsequently buried six fee deep. The victim had an airbag but was unable to deploy it. The slide also caught two other party members who were parked in the run out zone. One was buried up to his chest while the other was completely buried. They both deployed their air bags and escaped without injury. For a more detailed report, please see the avalanche incidents report at http://www.mtavalanche.com.

• Avalanche12/11/2016

  Absarokee / Beartooth Mountains

  1 death

  What happened

  A skier was killed by an avalanche on Henderson Mountain outside Cooke City on December 11th. The skier was in a party of 5 and his descent was the 7th track on the slope when it avalanched. He was carried into trees and buried under 5' of snow. Another person was buried to his waist, uninjured, as he stood in the runout zone. The victim was found with avalanche transceivers and dug up in 15 to 20 minutes. CPR was initiated, but unsuccessful as trauma was a likely factor in his death. For a more detailed report, please see the avalanche incidents report at http://www.mtavalanche.com.

• Avalanche12/31/2022

  Absaroka / Beartooth Mountains

  1 death

  What happened

  Please see Episode write-up.

• Thunderstorm Wind64 kt wind07/25/2026

  Springdale, Park County

• Thunderstorm Wind56 kt wind07/05/2026

  Springdale, Park County

• Thunderstorm Wind51 kt wind07/05/2026

  Mission, Park County

• Winter Storm05/21/2026

  Absaroka / Beartooth Mountains

• Thunderstorm Wind51 kt wind05/14/2026

  Wilsall Arpt, Park County

• Thunderstorm Wind54 kt wind05/14/2026

  Springdale, Park County

• Thunderstorm Wind82 kt wind05/14/2026

  Livingston, Park County

• Thunderstorm Wind63 kt wind05/14/2026

  Mission, Park County

• Billings City ofServes 114,000 · Surface water · Local governmentNo health violations
• Billings Heights Co Water Dist ofServes 12,000 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations+4 monitoring or reporting
• Livingston City ofServes 9,200 · Groundwater · Local governmentNo health violations
• Laurel Municipal Water SystemServes 6,339 · Surface water · Local government1 health violation+2 monitoring or reporting
• Lockwood Water and Sewer DistrictServes 5,900 · Surface water · Local governmentNo health violations
• Pioneer Water ServiceServes 900 · Purchased surface water · PrivateNo health violations+3 monitoring or reporting
• Go 2 U Water DeliveryServes 875 · Purchased surface water · PrivateNo health violations+1 monitoring or reporting
• Estates at Yellowstone LLCServes 800 · Groundwater · PrivateNo health violations+3 monitoring or reporting