King County, Washington severe weather history spans 82 recorded events between 1956 and 2023. The dominant hazard is lightning, accounting for 26.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,947 nationally and #11 in Washington.
82
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
24
Direct injuries
$117.0M
Property damage
The record
What the King County, Washington severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, King County, Washington severe weather history averages 1.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 30 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 9 events fall before 1990 and 73 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the King County, Washington record is heavy rain, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is heavy rain, with $85.8M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in King County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning | 22 | 0 | $969K | 0 | 1996–2015 |
| Heavy Rain | 22 | 1 | $85.8M | 5.02 | 1996–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 11 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2010 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 7 | 0 | $75K | 80 | 1956–2013 |
| Flood | 7 | 0 | $28.7M | 0 | 1996–2021 |
| Tornado | 5 | 0 | $525K | F3 | 1962–2001 |
| Hail | 4 | 0 | $0 | 1.5 | 1972–2008 |
| Debris Flow | 3 | 0 | $220K | 0 | 2014–2017 |
| Flash Flood | 1 | 1 | $750K | 0 | 2006–2006 |
Decade by decade
King County, Washington severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
4 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 3 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969-12-12 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 3.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1971-12-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-09-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-08-18 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in King County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 6, 2022 | Heavy Rain | CEDAR MTN | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Dec 15, 2006 | Flash Flood | SEATTLE | 1 | 0 | $750K |
| Jan 14, 2000 | Heavy Rain | FEDERAL WAY | 0 | 15 | $0 |
| Aug 4, 1999 | Lightning | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 2 | $650K |
| Jul 5, 1997 | Lightning | KENT | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jan 7, 2022 | Heavy Rain | FREMONT | 0 | 1 | $1.5M |
| Jul 13, 2012 | Lightning | RENTON | 0 | 1 | $1K |
| Apr 3, 1997 | Lightning | SNOQUALMIE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Heavy rain and storm runoff damaged the West Point sewage treatment plant in Seattle. King county dumped an estimated 235 million gallons of untreated wastewater – including 30 million gallons of raw sewage – into Puget Sound because of damage to the plant. The plant could not perform full wastewater treatment as required by the state permit until May 9th, as reported by the Seattle Times.
The cities of Snoqualmie, Carnation, Duvall and Fall City flooded, some residents had to be rescued, many homes were flooded. The Issaquah creek flooded some residences and businesses. It also eroded part of the riverbank, which caused a guest house to fall into the creek. About 40 King County roads were closed. In Pacific, about 1000 people evacuated their homes due to flooding from releases from the Mud Mountain dam, 100 of those homes were damaged, some with 3 feet of water in them.
Four apartment buildings were evacuated in North Seattle, where some basement apartments had 3 feet of water in them. About 30 people were evacuated from apartments in Woodinville. Many roads were closed, including parts of SR 522, water over I-405 led to heavy traffic all day. About 20 roads were damaged throughout the county. Nearly 5 inches of rain fell at SeaTac airport. Nathan Hale High School in north Seattle was closed for a week due to water damage from Thorton Creek for the first time ever. A few homes and businesses had water damage.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very High
FEMA NRI risk rating
2,287,171
Population (ACS)
$860K
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 |
| Sep 10, 2022 | Fire | BOLT CREEK FIRE | FM |
| Apr 23, 2020 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Mar 22, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in King County, Washington?
82 events are on record between 1956 and 2023, causing 2 direct deaths and $117.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in King County?
Lightning, with 22 recorded events — 26.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed King County?
4 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 King County?
35 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include King County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is King County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates King County as very high risk, placing it in the 100 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the King 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
- Jefferson County 16
- Kitsap County 17
- Island County 6
- Kittitas County 41
- Grays Harbor County 31
- Klickitat County 28
Cite this page
“King County, Washington.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/washington/king-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.