Pierce County, Washington severe weather history spans 34 recorded events between 1978 and 2017. The dominant hazard is tornado, accounting for 26.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #3,103 nationally and #23 in Washington.
34
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$49.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Pierce County, Washington severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Pierce County, Washington severe weather history averages 0.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 17 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 3 events fall before 1990 and 31 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is heavy rain, with $38.0M 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 Pierce County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tornado | 9 | 0 | $535K | F1 | 1978–2015 |
| Heavy Rain | 9 | 0 | $38.0M | 0 | 2001–2015 |
| Lightning | 5 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 1997–2013 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2002–2009 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $10.9M | 0 | 2006–2015 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 2 | 0 | $30K | 39 | 1989–2013 |
| Debris Flow | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2017–2017 |
| Hail | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0.88 | 2007–2007 |
Decade by decade
Pierce County, Washington severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
8 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-01-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-09-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-09-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 9.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-06-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-05-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-06-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-04-27 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-09-24 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Pierce County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2004 | Lightning | GRAHAM | 0 | 1 | $2K |
| Sep 4, 2000 | Lightning | BONNEY LAKE | 0 | 1 | $2K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Mt Rainier National Park received about 18 inches of rain in two days. The rain and resulting landslides washed out roads and trails, severed sewer, water and power lines and damaged campgrounds. In all, the damage was the worst in the 107 years of the park's existence and closed the park. The park was not expected to reopen until at least the spring 2007 and more likely summer 2007 after many initial repairs had been completed.
There was flooding along the Puyallup River, some homes and businesses in Sumner flooded. Towns along the river had evacuation orders in place. Several roads in the area were also flooded, including 3 lanes of I-5 in Fife. Several small cities in eastern Pierce county, including Wilkeson and South Prairie, had flooding from creeks.
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
930,319
Population (ACS)
$527K
Median home value
26
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 |
| Sep 9, 2020 | Fire | SUMNER GRADE FIRE | FM |
| Mar 22, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Mar 5, 2012 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Pierce County, Washington?
34 events are on record between 1978 and 2017, causing 0 direct deaths and $49.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Pierce County?
Tornado, with 9 recorded events — 26.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Pierce County?
8 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 8 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Pierce County?
26 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Pierce County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Pierce County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Pierce County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 99 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Pierce 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
- Pend Oreille County 87
- San Juan County 4
- Pacific County 27
- Skagit County 16
- Okanogan County 231
- Skamania County 11
Cite this page
“Pierce County, Washington.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/washington/pierce-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.