Live
Active alerts for this county
Kittitas County, Washington severe weather history spans 41 recorded events between 1988 and 2024. The dominant hazard is flood, accounting for 29.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #3,083 nationally and #21 in Washington.
41
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$16.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Kittitas County, Washington severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Kittitas County, Washington severe weather history averages 1.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 19 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 1 events fall before 1990 and 40 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flood, with $16.2M in reported property damage. In total, 10 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Kittitas County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flood | 12 | 0 | $16.2M | 0 | 2006–2017 |
| Hail | 7 | 0 | $0 | 1.5 | 2006–2015 |
| Heavy Rain | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2012 |
| Flash Flood | 5 | 0 | $92K | 0 | 1998–2014 |
| Wildfire | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2003 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2005–2019 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $360K | 0 | 2010–2011 |
| Dust Devil | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–1999 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 0 | $0 | 60 | 1988–1988 |
| Tornado | 1 | 0 | $0 | EF0 | 2024–2024 |
Decade by decade
Kittitas 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-05-01 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
In addition to the high water on the Yakima River, numerous small streams and creeks in the west part of the county flooded with roads covered with water in housing developments along Interstate 90 west of Cle Elum and in the northern and western sections of Ellensburg. Forty homes, 64 roads and 3 commercial properties were impacted. Most of the home impacted were surrounded by water with residents cut off from the property by water covered roads. Damage to roads and public works in Kittitas County is estimated at 1.5 million dollars with residential and business damage near 650,000 dollars.
Lightning struck an 80 foot fir tree and started a house fire. The lightning split the tree and the energy was transferred into the cast iron sewer pipe and into the home catching the house on fire. A large piece of the split tree hit a car that was parked across the street.
Small Stream Flooding was reported along numerous creeks draining into the western sections of Ellensburg. Several roads were closed due to water including Railroad, Dolarway, Enterprise and West Thrall Roads. Most of the flooding was along Reecer and Dry Creek with water surrounding several businesses and homes.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
47,172
Population (ACS)
$497K
Median home value
29
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 |
| Feb 4, 2021 | Fire | WILDFIRES AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Mar 22, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jul 10, 2018 | Fire | RYEGRASS COULEE FIRE | FM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Kittitas County, Washington?
41 events are on record between 1988 and 2024, causing 0 direct deaths and $16.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Kittitas County?
Flood, with 12 recorded events — 29.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Kittitas 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 Kittitas County?
29 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Kittitas County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Kittitas County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Kittitas County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 89 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Kittitas 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
- Kitsap County 17
- Klickitat County 28
- King County 82
- Lewis County 19
- Jefferson County 16
- Lincoln County 81
Cite this page
“Kittitas County, Washington.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/washington/kittitas-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.