Thurston County, Washington severe weather history spans 28 recorded events between 1983 and 2023. The dominant hazard is heavy rain, accounting for 32.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #3,122 nationally and #25 in Washington.
28
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$25.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Thurston County, Washington severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Thurston County, Washington severe weather history averages 0.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 17 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 2 events fall before 1990 and 26 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 $21.3M 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 Thurston County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Rain | 9 | 0 | $21.3M | 0 | 1999–2023 |
| Tornado | 5 | 0 | $105K | F1 | 1994–2019 |
| Flood | 4 | 0 | $3.4M | 0 | 2006–2021 |
| Hail | 3 | 0 | $0 | 1.5 | 1983–1997 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $21K | 0 | 2002–2003 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2008 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 0 | $700K | 61 | 2017–2017 |
Decade by decade
Thurston County, Washington severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
5 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-05-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-10-04 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-01-28 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2003-10-15 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1994-04-06 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Thurston County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 2003 | Lightning | NISQUALLY | 0 | 1 | $1K |
| Jun 7, 2002 | Lightning | LACEY | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
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.
A tornado touched down near the main street of Bucoda. Several buildings sustained damage. Damage included aluminum sheds blown over or moved, rain gutters torn off buildings, and a twisted street sign. A piece of one aluminum shed was seen 80 feet above the ground caught in a tree.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
299,067
Population (ACS)
$480K
Median home value
30
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 |
| Mar 29, 2022 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, SNOWSTORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 9, 2020 | Fire | BORDEAUX ROAD 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 Thurston County, Washington?
28 events are on record between 1983 and 2023, causing 0 direct deaths and $25.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Thurston County?
Heavy Rain, with 9 recorded events — 32.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Thurston County?
5 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 5 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Thurston County?
30 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Thurston County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Thurston County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Thurston County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 95 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Thurston 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
- Stevens County 117
- Wahkiakum County 47
- Spokane County 249
- Walla Walla County 90
- Snohomish County 53
- Whatcom County 20
Cite this page
“Thurston County, Washington.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/washington/thurston-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.