Spokane County, Washington severe weather history spans 249 recorded events between 1954 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 43.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,112 nationally and #1 in Washington.
249
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
30
Direct injuries
$28.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Spokane County, Washington severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Spokane County, Washington severe weather history averages 3.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 82 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 18 events fall before 1990 and 231 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flood, with $13.5M in reported property damage. In total, 11 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Spokane County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 107 | 0 | $11.9M | 77 | 1963–2025 |
| Hail | 44 | 0 | $274K | 2.75 | 1963–2023 |
| Flood | 33 | 0 | $13.5M | 0 | 2006–2025 |
| Tornado | 16 | 0 | $481K | F2 | 1954–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 15 | 0 | $1.6M | 0 | 1998–2022 |
| Lightning | 11 | 0 | $238K | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Heavy Rain | 11 | 0 | $38K | 0 | 1996–2022 |
| Funnel Cloud | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2017 |
| Debris Flow | 4 | 0 | $38K | 0 | 2014–2019 |
| Dust Devil | 1 | 0 | $500 | 0 | 2015–2015 |
| Wildfire | 1 | 0 | $800K | 0 | 1997–1997 |
Decade by decade
Spokane County, Washington severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
16 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957-05-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-06-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-05-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-04-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-10-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-06-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1970-06-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-04-18 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-05-06 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-05-06 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Spokane County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 22, 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | SPOKANE | 0 | 12 | $0 |
| Sep 16, 2003 | Hail | SPOKANE | 0 | 10 | $50K |
| Jul 23, 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | SOUTH CHENEY | 0 | 4 | $4.0M |
| Aug 12, 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | MEAD | 0 | 2 | $100K |
| Aug 6, 2004 | Lightning | SPOKANE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Apr 4, 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | AIRWAY HGTS | 0 | 1 | $80K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A series of rain storms and low elevation snow melt caused saturated soil conditions through out Spokane County through the second half of March. These conditions lead to numerous small stream and field flooding issues through out the county. Homes and buildings along the shore of Williams Lake and Newman Lake experienced flooding from high lake levels. In Mead a hillside began slowly sliding in a residential area necessitating the evacuation of two homes. Spokane County was included in a State of Emergency declaration issued by the state Governor. ||Twenty two roads in the county were washed out or at least temporarily closed due to flooding.
Heavy rain and snow melt occurring February 15th and 16th produced numerous small stream and field flooding issues around Spokane County. Thirteen roads around the region were closed due to flooding and washouts on the road ways and the Spokane City Council declared a state of emergency to allow highway crews access to more resources to deal with the flooding repair and mitigation. The flooding persisted for at least the next week around the region.
Heavy rain and low elevation snow melt led to standing water in low lying areas, flooding along small streams and creeks, road washouts and isolated reports of some basement flooding. Spangle Creek flowed out of its banks resulting in water surrounding homes with basement flooding along a three block stretch. A vehicle became stuck on a flooded road and had to be saved by rescue personnel. There were reports of flooding in fields in Cheney and in Elk. State Route 231 between milepost 0 and 28 was closed due to water and mud over the roadway. Flood waters over Jackson Road took out an eight foot culvert and a portion of the road above the culvert. A small creek near Shady Slope and Little Spokane Drive came out of its banks resulting in minor flooding. Damage costs for the event were estimated.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
549,056
Population (ACS)
$411K
Median home value
29
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 16, 2026 | Fire | UPRIVER FIRE | FM |
| Feb 15, 2024 | Fire | WILDFIRES | DR |
| Aug 19, 2023 | Fire | OREGON FIRE | FM |
| Aug 18, 2023 | Fire | GRAY FIRE | FM |
| Jul 6, 2021 | Fire | ANDRUS FIRE | FM |
| Apr 8, 2021 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Spokane County, Washington?
249 events are on record between 1954 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $28.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Spokane County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 107 recorded events — 43.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Spokane County?
16 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 16 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Spokane County?
29 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Spokane County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Spokane County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Spokane County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 90 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Spokane 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
- Snohomish County 53
- Stevens County 117
- Skamania County 11
- Thurston County 28
- Skagit County 16
- Wahkiakum County 47
Cite this page
“Spokane County, Washington.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/washington/spokane-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.