Tornadoes · United States

Tornadoes in Washington

134 tornadoes since 1950, an average of 1.8 a year, 42nd of the 53 states and territories in the record. They have killed 0 people and injured 3. None was rated F4 or above.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

The strongest

  1. F3, King County, WashingtonDecember 12, 1969F3, 3.8 mi (6 km)
  2. F3, Lincoln County, WashingtonApril 5, 1972F3, 0.1 mi (0 km)
  3. F2, Lewis County, WashingtonNovember 10, 1965F2, 1.5 mi (2 km)
  4. F2, Spokane County, WashingtonMay 6, 1957F2, 1.5 mi (2 km)
  5. EF2, Kitsap County, WashingtonDecember 18, 2018EF2, 1.4 mi (2 km)
  6. F2, Stevens County, WashingtonApril 5, 1972F2, 1.0 mi (2 km)
  7. F2, Columbia County, WashingtonMarch 14, 1966F2, 1.0 mi (2 km)
  8. F2, Yakima County, WashingtonApril 30, 1957F2, 1.0 mi (2 km)
  9. F2, Whitman County, WashingtonAugust 30, 1971F2, 0.5 mi (1 km)
  10. F2, Spokane County, WashingtonJune 15, 1954F2, 0.5 mi (1 km)
  11. F2, Snohomish County, WashingtonMay 13, 1986F2, 0.3 mi (0 km)
  12. F2, Snohomish County, WashingtonNovember 24, 1970F2, 0.3 mi (0 km)

The longest paths

  1. F0, Walla Walla County, WashingtonApril 24, 195845.0 mi (72 km)
  2. F1, Lincoln County, WashingtonMay 31, 199712.0 mi (19 km)
  3. F0, Walla Walla County, WashingtonMay 22, 196410.7 mi (17 km)
  4. F0, Benton County, WashingtonMay 9, 195610.2 mi (16 km)
  5. EF1, Clark County, WashingtonJanuary 10, 200810.1 mi (16 km)
  6. EF1, Pierce County, WashingtonSeptember 6, 20099.6 mi (15 km)
  7. F0, King County, WashingtonAugust 18, 19645.2 mi (8 km)
  8. F1, Okanogan County, WashingtonJuly 21, 19975.0 mi (8 km)
  9. F1, Okanogan County, WashingtonJuly 21, 19975.0 mi (8 km)
  10. F1, Spokane County, WashingtonMay 31, 19975.0 mi (8 km)
  11. EF1, Pierce County, WashingtonJanuary 18, 20154.1 mi (7 km)
  12. EF0, Clark County, WashingtonSeptember 27, 20213.9 mi (6 km)

The costliest

  1. EF2, Kitsap County, WashingtonDecember 18, 2018$1.2 million
  2. EF1, Clark County, WashingtonJanuary 10, 2008$525,000
  3. F1, Spokane County, WashingtonMay 31, 1997$350,000
  4. EF1, Clark County, WashingtonDecember 10, 2015$311,000
  5. F1, Lincoln County, WashingtonMay 31, 1997$300,000
  6. EF1, Cowlitz County, WashingtonOctober 23, 2014$182,000
  7. EF1, Pierce County, WashingtonSeptember 6, 2009$180,000
  8. EF1, Mason County, WashingtonOctober 18, 2019$150,000
  9. F1, Pierce County, WashingtonMay 31, 1997$150,000
  10. F1, Pierce County, WashingtonJune 27, 2001$100,000
  11. F1, Columbia County, WashingtonJanuary 16, 2000$100,000
  12. F1, Thurston County, WashingtonMay 27, 2004$50,000

The biggest days in Washington

  1. June 6, 20094tornadoes
  2. July 21, 19974tornadoes
  3. May 31, 19974tornadoes
  4. August 26, 19973tornadoes
  5. April 5, 19723tornadoes
  6. May 6, 20222tornadoes
  7. July 22, 20162tornadoes
  8. April 23, 20052tornadoes
  9. May 27, 20042tornadoes
  10. April 6, 19942tornadoes
  11. April 23, 19832tornadoes
  12. May 22, 19642tornadoes

Every year

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesF4 and above
20244
20233
20222
20212
20202
20192
20181
20172
20164
20152
20143
20132
20112
20102
20096
20083
20062
20054
20049
20032
20012
20003
19992
199714
19961
19942
19921
19912
19901
198911
19872
19862
19852
19842
19834
19822
19812
19802
19792
19784
197231
19713
19702
196911
19661
19651
19643
19621
19582
19573
19561
19541

Every county in Washington

A tornado is counted once for every county its path crossed, so these add up to more than 134. Each county has a page of its own: every tornado that crossed it, year by year.

CountyTornadoesDeaths
Spokane County16
Clark County14
Lincoln County12
Pierce County9
Yakima County8
Snohomish County7
Grant County6
Benton County5
King County5
Okanogan County5
Stevens County5
Thurston County5
Walla Walla County5
Cowlitz County4
Adams County3
Douglas County3
Grays Harbor County3
Lewis County3
Pacific County3
Whitman County3
Columbia County2
Franklin County2
Kitsap County2
Columbia County1
Ferry County1
Kittitas County1
Mason County1
Pend Oreille County1
Whatcom County1

Nearby

Warnings in force in WashingtonForecast for your townThe live radar over Washington

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.