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San Juan County; Lowlands of Western Whatcom County; Port Townsend Area; Island County
Whatcom County, Washington severe weather history spans 20 recorded events between 1996 and 2024. The dominant hazard is heavy rain, accounting for 30.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #3,151 nationally and #31 in Washington.
20
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$49.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Whatcom County, Washington severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Whatcom County, Washington severe weather history averages 0.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 8 events logged in that decade alone.
The deadliest hazard in the Whatcom County, Washington record is flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $48.5M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Whatcom County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Rain | 6 | 0 | $175K | 0 | 2001–2024 |
| Flood | 5 | 1 | $48.5M | 0 | 2006–2021 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 3 | 0 | $2K | 58 | 2009–2012 |
| Storm Surge/Tide | 2 | 0 | $900K | 0 | 2000–2001 |
| Tornado | 1 | 0 | $10K | F0 | 2004–2004 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $3K | 0 | 1996–1996 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–1997 |
| Waterspout | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–1997 |
Decade by decade
Whatcom County, Washington severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
1 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-04-27 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 2.7 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Whatcom County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 14, 2021 | Flood | WICKERSHAM | 1 | 0 | $34.0M |
| Nov 16, 2021 | Heavy Rain | ALGER | 0 | 1 | $75K |
| Dec 15, 2000 | Storm Surge/Tide | FERNDALE | 0 | 1 | $650K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Heavy rain and some snow melt caused flooding that exceeded major severity on the South Fork Nooksack River and mainstem Nooksack River at North Cedarville and Ferndale. There was urban and small stream flooding as well, hitting Bellingham especially hard. The heavy rain also triggered a dozen landslides throughout the area. Significant flooding on the Nooksack River also overflowed at the City of Everson to the degree that flood waters flowed north along an old Nooksack floodway and Johnson Creek where it flooded the cities of Everson and Nooksack, WA, then combined with flooding from the Sumas River and flooded the City of Sumas, WA where over 85% of homes sustained water damage. Damages are reported and estimated; not all damages have been identified. Crop damages are unknown.
Some homes and businesses in Ferndale, Marietta and Lynden were flooded, most of them from the Nooksack River. Most schools in the area were closed or limited hours for 3 days. Sections of several major roads were closed. In the end more than two dozen roads had sections that had been washed away.
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.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
230,503
Population (ACS)
$586K
Median home value
27
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 |
| Jan 5, 2022 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Apr 23, 2020 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Mar 22, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Whatcom County, Washington?
20 events are on record between 1996 and 2024, causing 1 direct deaths and $49.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Whatcom County?
Heavy Rain, with 6 recorded events — 30.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Whatcom County?
1 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 1 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Whatcom County?
27 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Whatcom County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Whatcom County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Whatcom County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 91 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Whatcom 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
- Walla Walla County 90
- Whitman County 124
- Wahkiakum County 47
- Yakima County 117
- Thurston County 28
- Stevens County 117
Cite this page
“Whatcom County, Washington.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/washington/whatcom-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.