Douglas County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Douglas County: 0.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Volcanoes within 100 miles

1. U.S. volcanoes within 100 miles, from the USGS Volcano Hazards Program. The threat category is the USGS 2018 National Volcanic Threat Assessment, which ranks volcanoes by how hazardous their past eruptions were and how many people and how much infrastructure lie near them. It is not a forecast of eruption.

USGS Volcano Hazards Program, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by NASA (8), NV NBMG (7), USGS Conterminous (1).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Oct 14, 2016Wildfire, Greater Reno/Carson City/Minden Area$30.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A prescribed burn that was thought to be mopped up on October 13th flared up as high winds affected the Carson Range early on the 14th. The Little Valley Fire burned through 2,291 acres and destroyed 23 homes and 17 outbuildings. According to a Reno Gazette Journal investigation, the estimated value of 18 of the homes exceeded 26 million dollars with an independent fire consultant indicating that damages could exceed 80 million. The Little Valley RAWS measured a wind gust of 87 mph around 130 AM PDT on the 14th, close to the time of the wildfire start.

2. Nov 18, 2011Wildfire, Greater Reno/Carson City/Minden Area$8.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   High winds caused a tree to fall on a power line sparking a rapidly spreading wildfire in southwest Reno around 0030PST. The 2,000 acre Caughlin Fire fire spread, sometimes up to 30 mph, and caused the destruction of around 30 homes during the early morning of the 18th. Over 9,000 people were evacuated from the fire area early Friday before being allowed to return Saturday. One man died while evacuating his home, a firefighter suffered second-degree burns, and 16 others were admitted to area hospitals for smoke inhalation.

3. Dec 10, 2022Winter Storm, Greater Reno/Carson City/Minden Area$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   NWS Employee located 2.0 mi S of Spanish Springs relayed photos of wind damage at a CVS department store. A section of roofing material was torn off. The time of damage was estimated.

4. Dec 31, 2022Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rains contributed to flooding and minor rock and mud flow along US-395 near Topaz Lake in Douglas County.

5. Jan 19, 2012Wildfire, Greater Reno/Carson City/Minden Area$4.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong winds (up to 84 mph) and the improper disposal of fireplace ashes caused the rapid spread of a fire originating at the north end of Washoe Valley early in the afternoon on the 19th. Thousands of people were forced to evacuate from the swift-moving fire. Around 3100 acres were burned with 28 homes destroyed (7 damaged) and one fatality attributed to the fire. ||For information purposes only (not direct costs from wildfire), the tally of fire-fighting related costs were at least 1.5 million dollars.

6. Dec 10, 2022Winter Storm, Greater Reno/Carson City/Minden Area$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The public (retired NWS employee) relayed photos of glass bathroom tiles being blown off. Another report included photos that showed wood fence damage as well as several uprooted small trees. Exact time and location estimated from the report.

7. Jul 8, 2015Flash Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Very heavy rainfall caused water to overflow washes and overwhelm drainage infrastructure in the Johnson Lane area. Water damage to 141 properties, including major damage to 4 homes and minor damage to 7 homes, was reported by Douglas County Emergency Management officials. Damages are estimated and may include some costs from flooding on July 9 (total damage 2.2M between the two days).

8. Dec 31, 2005Flood$973,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding was reported in the Sunset Hills area of Mason Valley. U.S. Highway 395 was closed when floodwater from the Carson River covered Cradlebaugh Bridge. Mudslides occurred in the Foothill area of Douglas County. Highway 88 and Kimmerling Road were both closed when they were blocked by debris.

9. Jan 8, 2017Flood$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Kingsbury Grade (Highway 207) was closed due to a previously-repaired (in December 2016) sinkhole re-opening with the heavy rain. The damage estimate is based on the contracts awarded for repairing both the December and January incidents.

10. Jan 1, 2006Flood$524,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Flooding continued across western Nevada into early January. However, rivers and streams reached flood stage and then started to recede on January 1st. The entire Truckee River was below flood stage by the evening of the 1st. The entire Carson River was below flood stage by early on the 3rd.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

109°F2 times, most recently Jul 6, 2007

All-time low

−24°F3 times, most recently Feb 7, 1989

Warmest night

67°F4 times, most recently Aug 20, 1931

Coldest day

4°FJan 9, 1937

Wettest day

4.64 inJan 1, 2023

Snowiest day

25.0 inMar 15, 1952

Hottest year

1934mean 54.0°F

Coldest year

1982mean 47.1°F

Wettest year

201720.00 in

Driest year

19852.15 in

Snowiest season

79.6 in1909-10

Station Minden (USC00265191), 4,709 ft elevation, 1.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1906 to July 20, 2026; 88.3% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

Neighbouring counties

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00265191.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Volcanoes USGS Volcano Hazards Program, U.S. volcanoes and 2018 threat assessment.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.