Clark County, Washington severe weather history spans 71 recorded events between 1972 and 2025. The dominant hazard is tornado, accounting for 21.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,989 nationally and #14 in Washington.
71
Recorded events
6
Direct deaths
306
Direct injuries
$29.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Clark County, Washington severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Clark County, Washington severe weather history averages 1.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 29 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 5 events fall before 1990 and 66 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Clark County, Washington record is tornado, responsible for 6 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $25.9M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Clark County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tornado | 15 | 6 | $25.9M | F3 | 1972–2023 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 14 | 0 | $68K | 74 | 1976–2025 |
| Flood | 12 | 0 | $1.5M | 0 | 2009–2022 |
| Heavy Rain | 11 | 0 | $1.8M | 0 | 2001–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 8 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2013–2025 |
| Hail | 7 | 0 | $8K | 1 | 1976–2008 |
| Lightning | 4 | 0 | $31K | 0 | 1997–2005 |
Decade by decade
Clark County, Washington severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
15 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 13 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972-04-05 | EF3 | 6 | 300 | 8.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2015-12-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-01-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 10.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-06-29 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 1.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-10-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2023-10-11 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-09-27 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 3.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-10-12 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-03-24 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-03-21 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Clark County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 5, 1972 | Tornado | 6 | 300 | $25.0M | |
| Jun 27, 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | VANCOUVER | 0 | 5 | $25K |
| Jun 30, 1989 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $3K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Heavy rain combined with snowmelt runoff to produce flooding on the Columbia River. The Columbia River at Vancouver (VAPW1) crested at 17.43 feet at 07:30 am on June 2nd, 2011. The Clark County Parks Department sustained significant damage at Captain William Clark Park in Camas and inumdation/minor damage at three other parks (Vancouver Lake, Frenchman's Bar, and Salmon Creek Trail) along the Columbia, totaling about $50k – $100k. The Port of Camas-Washougal reports about $100k estimated cost to repair two sections of levee that had significant erosion damage. Vancouver Public Works reported damage to the Vancouver Renaissance Walkway, with a rough estimate of repair costs $100k – $1M.
Tornado had estimated wind speeds of 90 to 110 mph. Damage reports along the path of the tornado include: 200+ trees down, most between 12 to 24 inches in diameter, and approximately 6 trees greater than 36 inches; 30 to 40 homes damaged, with primarily roof damage; 19 power poles were snapped off; 3 lightly constructed structures were destroyed; a parked semi-trailer was tipped over, and several dozen sculling boats were damaged near Vancouver Lake.
An EF-0 tornado with estimated winds of 85 mph (DI:28 ,DOD:3) began near the intersection of NE 72nd Avenue and State Highway 502 at 45.7804 latitude, -122.5982 longitude. The tornado tracked in a northeast direction, ending up near NE 259th St. and NE 147th Ave at 45.8105 latitude and -122.5229 longitude. The tornado path was about 240 yards wide with a track length of about 3.9 miles. The estimated start and end time of the tornado is 1806PST and 1821PST. No injuries or fatalities were reported. The majority of the damage was to trees that were uprooted or snapped. Other damage included a tree that fell on an RV, and fences damaged by toppled trees.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
516,959
Population (ACS)
$523K
Median home value
17
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 7, 2026 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Apr 28, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Oct 17, 2022 | Fire | NAKIA CREEK FIRE | FM |
| Mar 22, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Feb 2, 2016 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, MUDSLIDES, AND A T | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Clark County, Washington?
71 events are on record between 1972 and 2025, causing 6 direct deaths and $29.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Clark County?
Tornado, with 15 recorded events — 21.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Clark County?
15 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 13 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Clark County?
17 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Clark County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Clark County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Clark County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 92 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Clark County, Washington severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Clallam County 22
- Columbia County 26
- Chelan County 169
- Cowlitz County 59
- Benton County 88
- Douglas County 50
Cite this page
“Clark County, Washington.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/washington/clark-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.