Okanogan County, Washington severe weather history spans 231 recorded events between 1973 and 2024. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 23.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,246 nationally and #2 in Washington.
231
Recorded events
5
Direct deaths
6
Direct injuries
$40.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Okanogan County, Washington severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Okanogan County, Washington severe weather history averages 4.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 114 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 4 events fall before 1990 and 227 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Okanogan County, Washington record is wildfire, responsible for 4 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $19.0M in reported property damage. In total, 10 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Okanogan County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 54 | 0 | $1.3M | 76 | 1991–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 40 | 1 | $4.3M | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Flood | 39 | 0 | $19.0M | 0 | 2006–2023 |
| Hail | 36 | 0 | $10.0M | 1.75 | 1973–2022 |
| Debris Flow | 34 | 0 | $259K | 0 | 2012–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 12 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2022 |
| Wildfire | 8 | 4 | $5.5M | 0 | 1998–2003 |
| Tornado | 5 | 0 | $45K | F1 | 1982–1997 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $2K | 0 | 2006–2009 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2013–2013 |
Decade by decade
Okanogan County, Washington severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
5 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997-07-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-07-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1987-05-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-05-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-08-26 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Okanogan County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 10, 2001 | Wildfire | WINTHROP | 4 | 4 | $0 |
| Jul 13, 2001 | Flash Flood | OROVILLE | 1 | 0 | $1.5M |
| Aug 12, 2001 | Wildfire | OKANOGAN | 0 | 2 | $900K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The "Thirtymile" wildfire was in the mop-up stages on July 10 when excessively hot and dry conditions that afternoon caused the smoldering fire to blow up. The fire came roaring back to life, quickly spreading from 25 to 2,500 acres in just three hours. The quickly-spreading fire overran a group of 14 firefighters, causing members of the group to deploy emergency shelters. Four members of the group perished (direct), and four others were hospitalized with injuries. The Thirtymile fire was contained on July 23 after burning a total of 9,300 acres. The cost of fighting this fire exceeded $4.3 million.
The USGS River Gage on the Okanogan River at Tonasket recorded a rise above the Flood Stage of 15.0 feet at 4:45 AM PST on May 5th. The river continued to rise, passing through the Moderate Flood Stage of 17.0 Feet at 11:45 PM on May 7th and through the Major Flood Stage of 18.0 feet at 9:15 AM on May 9th. The river crested twice, the first and highest crest of 19.7 feet at 4:30 PM PST on May 11th and the second crest of 19.3 feet at 10:30 AM on May 18th. The river then receded, passing below Major Flood Stage at 9:30 PM on May 20th and below the Moderate Flood Stage at noon PST on May 22nd. The river continued to slowly recede finally passing below the Flood Stage at 2:30 AM on May 27th.
Areal Flooding, mudslides and debris flows in rough terrain plagued Okanogan County during the month of April as a result of saturated soil conditions brought on by periodic heavy rain and spring snow melt. ||At least 24 roads through out the county were closed or damaged by washouts and debris flows during the month. ||Most notably, State Route 20, a main east to west route between Twisp and Okanogan was cut by a washout on April 7th near mile post 221 and then suffered a second washout on April 15th near mile post 211. Both washouts cut deep chasms through the road bed and closed a 10 mile section of the highway through the rest of the month and into May. Five residences between these washouts were isolated while the road was repaired.||A second major route through the county, State Route 153, was cut by a debris flow on April 7th causing a temporary closure of a three mile stretch near Pateros.||Salmon Creek near Conconully flooded and damaged summer homes and properties along it's banks.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
43,425
Population (ACS)
$300K
Median home value
39
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 24, 2024 | Fire | SWAWILLA FIRE | FM |
| Apr 28, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Jul 30, 2023 | Fire | EAGLE BLUFF FIRE | FM |
| 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 |
| Aug 16, 2021 | Fire | MUCKAMUCK FIRE | FM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Okanogan County, Washington?
231 events are on record between 1973 and 2024, causing 5 direct deaths and $40.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Okanogan County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 54 recorded events — 23.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Okanogan County?
5 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 5 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Okanogan County?
39 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Okanogan County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Okanogan County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Okanogan County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 89 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Okanogan 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
- Mason County 17
- Pacific County 27
- Lincoln County 81
- Pend Oreille County 87
- Lewis County 19
- Pierce County 34
Cite this page
“Okanogan County, Washington.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/washington/okanogan-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.