52
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$501K
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Malheur County, Oregon: 52 recorded events between 1969 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 70. That places the county #2,700 nationally and #2 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Malheur County, Oregon: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Malheur County is the 1990s, when 16 of the county's 52 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Malheur County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 41.3% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #2,700 for this hazard and #2 within Oregon, putting it in the 14.3 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Malheur County with 16 recorded events, while Feb is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 29, 2025 | ROME | 62 | $0 |
| Sep 29, 2025 | ROME | 52 | $0 |
| Aug 4, 2025 | DREWSEY | 54 | $0 |
| Jul 27, 2025 | CAIRO | 58 | $0 |
| Jul 5, 2025 | ROME | 50 | $0 |
| Jun 26, 2024 | NYSSA | 65 | $0 |
| Sep 7, 2022 | VALE | 52 | $0 |
| Sep 7, 2022 | ROME | 68 | $0 |
| Aug 10, 2022 | LONG | 55 | $0 |
| Jun 23, 2021 | LUSE | 54 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Severe thunderstorms formed in extreme Eastern Oregon near midday. High winds knocked over trees, power poles, power lines, and billboards, and caused areas of blowing dust that contributed to several auto accidents. A weather spotter at Keating, northeast of Baker City in Baker County, reported winds gusting to near 50 knots between 1000 PST and 1130 PST, with trees and large tree branches blown down. The Ontario Airport, in Malheur County, reported steady winds in the 40 to 50 knot range from 1000 PST until 1200 PST, with gusts to 60 knots. Areas of blowing dust reduced visibility to 15 feet near Ontario, contributing to several auto accidents, including a seven car pileup on United States Highway 20 at 1145 PST. No one was seriously injured. Tumbleweeds and other debris were blown into irrigation ditches and dams in the nearby Treasure Valley agricultural area, plugging them up and backing up water. It was several days before all of the weeds and debris were removed and the irrigation systems were fully operational.
A thunderstorm developed near Burns Junction shortly after the Rome storm, and produced even stronger wind. The mesonet near Burns Junction recorded gusts over 60 mph for about 10 minutes, with a peak gust of 71 mph. Sustained winds were still near 40 mph, speaking to the quick moving nature of the winds.
Rome airport observed gusts near 60 mph for about 5 minutes as a thunderstorms gust front move through. Sustained winds were between 36-44 mph at the same time. This occurred shortly before an even stronger gust occurred at Burns Junction.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Malheur County, Oregon?
52 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Malheur County between 1969 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Malheur County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Malheur County measured 70.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Malheur County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Thunderstorm Wind in Malheur County, Oregon.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/oregon/malheur-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.