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Lewis County, Washington severe weather history spans 19 recorded events between 1965 and 2021. The dominant hazard is flood, accounting for 42.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #3,155 nationally and #32 in Washington.
19
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$71.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Lewis County, Washington severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Lewis County, Washington severe weather history averages 0.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 10 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 1 events fall before 1990 and 18 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Lewis County, Washington record is flood, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $70.9M in reported property damage. In total, 4 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Lewis County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flood | 8 | 3 | $70.9M | 0 | 2006–2021 |
| Heavy Rain | 5 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 2001–2006 |
| Tornado | 3 | 0 | $36K | F2 | 1965–2011 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $2K | 0 | 2002–2013 |
Decade by decade
Lewis County, Washington severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
3 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 3 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965-11-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-05-27 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-10-25 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Lewis County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 5, 2006 | Flood | PACKWOOD | 2 | 0 | $8.8M |
| Dec 3, 2007 | Flood | DOTY | 1 | 0 | $50.0M |
| Sep 5, 2013 | Lightning | CHEHALIS | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| May 27, 2004 | Lightning | TOLEDO | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Record flooding occurred on the Cowlitz, Nooksack, Puyallup, Nisqually, |Skykomish, Stillaguamish, Carbon, Snoqualmie, and Bogachiel. Major flooding occurred on the Tolt, Snohomish, Skokomish, Skagit, and White rivers. Other rivers flooding were the Satsop, Cedar, Wynoochee, Elwha, Deschutes, Dungeness, Skookumchuck, and Chehalis.
The Chehalis river at Centralia reached a record flood stage of 74.78 feet. An 81-year old man disappeared along a stream near Winlock. More than 450 homes were damaged outside of the cities of Chehalis and Centralia. About 65 homes were destroyed, while just over 200 had major damage. Over 1800 farm animals died. A 20 mile stretch of Interstate-5 was closed for 3 days as parts of the interstate were under as much as 10 feet of water as well as the major north-south rail line. In Centralia about 350 homes were damaged or destroyed. About 1100 people used shelters. Many schools were closed for a week. Some communities had no fresh water. More than 20 square blocks near downtown Centralia were under water.
There was some damage in the town of Randle, mostly businesses that need to replace carpets. Interstate 5 was closed for about 2 days, causing losses of nearly 10 million. Dozens of homes flooded and many people had to be evacuated. More than 50 miles of road surfaces, as well as a water treatment plant, were damaged.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
85,154
Population (ACS)
$386K
Median home value
37
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 7, 2026 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Dec 12, 2025 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | EM |
| Apr 28, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Jan 12, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Mar 29, 2022 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, SNOWSTORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING | DR |
| Jan 5, 2022 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Lewis County, Washington?
19 events are on record between 1965 and 2021, causing 3 direct deaths and $71.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Lewis County?
Flood, with 8 recorded events — 42.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Lewis County?
3 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 3 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Lewis County?
37 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Lewis County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Lewis County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Lewis County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 90 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Lewis 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
- Klickitat County 28
- Lincoln County 81
- Kittitas County 41
- Mason County 17
- Kitsap County 17
- Okanogan County 231
Cite this page
“Lewis County, Washington.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/washington/lewis-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.