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Grays Harbor County, Washington severe weather history spans 31 recorded events between 1969 and 2025. The dominant hazard is heavy rain, accounting for 41.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #3,113 nationally and #24 in Washington.
31
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$11.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Grays Harbor County, Washington severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Grays Harbor County, Washington severe weather history averages 0.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 10 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 4 events fall before 1990 and 27 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Grays Harbor County, Washington record is flood, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $5.5M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Grays Harbor County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Rain | 13 | 0 | $5.0M | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Flood | 6 | 3 | $5.5M | 0 | 1996–2022 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 4 | 0 | $0 | 61 | 1970–2010 |
| Tornado | 3 | 0 | $0 | F0 | 1997–2020 |
| Storm Surge/Tide | 3 | 0 | $1.0M | 0 | 1999–2002 |
| Hail | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0.75 | 1969–1969 |
| Debris Flow | 1 | 0 | $300K | 0 | 2015–2015 |
Decade by decade
Grays Harbor 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-10-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-12-23 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-08-26 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Grays Harbor County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 7, 2022 | Flood | INDEPENDENCE | 2 | 0 | $3.4M |
| Dec 29, 1996 | Flood | COSMOPOLIS | 1 | 0 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Heavy rainfall of 6 to 10 inches, along with melting of remaining snow at lower elevations, lead to river flooding, significant urban and small stream flooding, and landslides. The peak of the rainfall was January 5 through January 7. Major flooding occurred on the Chehalis River and moderate flooding on the Satsop River. A motorist was stranded trying to cross a flooded road along the Chehalis River and was swept away when he left his vehicle. He was missing and presumed dead. Another man fatality occurred when an man tried to move his car out of flood danger and the car was swept away by flooding on the North River. Damages are reported and estimated; not all damages have been identified. Crop damages are unknown.
Nearly 50 roads were closed in the county. The closed roads caused many school districts to cancel classes. Several businesses also closed. Near Copalis Crossing, the Humptulips River flooded several homes. A few homes near Elma were also flooded.
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 High
FEMA NRI risk rating
77,053
Population (ACS)
$314K
Median home value
35
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 |
| Mar 29, 2022 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, SNOWSTORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 8, 2021 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Apr 23, 2020 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Grays Harbor County, Washington?
31 events are on record between 1969 and 2025, causing 3 direct deaths and $11.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Grays Harbor County?
Heavy Rain, with 13 recorded events — 41.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Grays Harbor 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 Grays Harbor County?
35 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Grays Harbor County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Grays Harbor County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Grays Harbor County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 97 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Grays Harbor 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
Cite this page
“Grays Harbor County, Washington.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/washington/grays-harbor-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.