How Bad Are Natural Disasters in Idaho Compared to Other States?

The weather in Idaho is often unpredictable, and while one hour may be sunny and in the 80s, with no wind, the next could be in the 50s, with rain, hail, and gusts faster than your car, or go from a nice day to a blizzard later in the afternoon. The is no logic when it comes to Idaho weather, especially in the Magic Valley. There have been droughts, floods, avalanches, and even occasionally a tornado. It is one of the few complaints many have about the state, and with all this odd weather, the thought is many natural disasters must occur in the Gem State. Compared to other states, does Idaho have less or more damaging natural disasters, and which state has the most and which state has the least?

The States With the Most and Least Natural Disasters

The worst part about natural disasters is no matter how prepared you are, you can never fully prepare for Mother Nature to unleash her havoc. WalletHub recently released a list of the states most impacted by natural disasters to those least impacted. They used categories to determine this, such as the number of climate disasters $1 billion or more in damage, and loss amount from disasters causing $1 billion or more per capita. Using these criteria, it was determined the state that has been affected the most by natural disasters is Mississippi, with Louisiana coming in at second, and Texas rounding out the top three. The safest state from natural disasters according to this list is Maine, with Alaska being the second least effect and New Hampshire rounding out the bottom three. 

Does Idaho Have A Lot of Natural Disasters? 

With the weather being the way it is in Idaho, many would expect the Gem State to suffer from a handful of natural disasters and be in the top echelon of this list. In reality, Idaho doesn't see as much damage from there as most states, coming in at 36 on the list, out of a possible 50 states. Not being near the coast, naturally helps since it eliminates hurricanes and things of that nature. Tornados typically stick to the central part of the United States and more in the south, also eliminating them as a common threat. With the state being in a drought until recently, flooding was off the table as well, except for the occasional melting of snow in bunches, or heavy rainfall for days, which doesn't happen often. 

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While Idaho might have some of the weirdest weather in any state, the good news is that it isn't damaging. Every state has natural disasters and will deal with them when they come, but the good news is that Idaho is seeing far less than most of the country. To see the full list broken down, and which states to perhaps avoid moving to, make sure to click the link above.