Clatsop County
Population 40,926 (2025) 828 sq mi
Property owners in Clatsop County have filed 160 federal flood insurance claims since 1978, 12th most of 36 counties in Oregon.
Hazard fingerprint Each spoke is this county’s percentile among U.S. counties where that hazard occurs. How it is computed
- Tornado damage paths since 19505
- Major flood years since 19781
At a glance
The record for Clatsop County in eight numbers. Each links to its section below.
Strongest tornado
F1
October 3, 1967, 0.5 mile path
Federal disaster declarations
19
Most recent: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, 2026
DetailsTornadoes
About one every 15 years since 1950, none rated F3/EF3 or stronger.
Strongest
October 3, 1967
F1, 0.5 mile path
70 yards wide.
Most recent
Monday, January 5, 1998
F0, 0.1 mile path
28 years ago.
Every recorded tornado
| Jan 5, 1998 | F0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 15, 1996 | F0 | 1.5 | 1 | 0 |
| Feb 13, 1994 | F0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 3, 1967 | F1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 20, 1966 | F0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
- Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Clatsop County: 0.
- 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.
Hurricanes and tropical storms
No tropical storm or hurricane has tracked within 100 miles since records began in 1851.
Wildfire and smoke
No large wildfire has been mapped here since satellite mapping began in 1984.
Smoke overhead
Smokiest year
2022: 20 days
Heavy smoke on 11 days in 2020, the most of any year.
Last 10 years
10.9 days a year
Medium or heavy smoke, 2016 to 2025.
2025
4 days
Medium or heavy smoke. 14 so far in 2026.
- 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.
Floods and flood insurance
160 federal flood insurance claims since 1979, with $2.0 million paid.
Most claims in one year
2007: 33 claims
$614,000 paid.
2nd most
2006: 22 claims
$327,000 paid.
3rd most
1996: 17 claims
$462,000 paid.
Claims by ZIP code
| 97138 | 83 | $968,000 |
| 97103 | 21 | $34,000 |
| 97110 | 16 | $317,000 |
| 97102 | 16 | $200,000 |
| 97016 | 12 | $375,000 |
| 97146 | 7 | $48,000 |
Flood events since 1996
- Heavy Rain12
- Flood7
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
Most severe crest
December 10, 2015
Columbia River at Wauna, 12.67 ft
0.67 feet above the 12.0 ft flood stage; moderate flooding by today’s categories.
Most recent moderate or major crest
December 10, 2015
Columbia River at Wauna, 12.67 ft
Moderate flooding.
| Dec 10, 2015 | Columbia River at Wauna | 12.67 | +0.67 |
| Feb 9, 2017 | Columbia River at Wauna | 12.37 | +0.37 |
| Mar 10, 2016 | Columbia River at Wauna | 12.18 | +0.18 |
| Jan 3, 2022 | Columbia River at Wauna | 12.08 | +0.08 |
| Dec 21, 2014 | Columbia River at Wauna | 11.68 | −0.32 |
| Dec 23, 2015 | Columbia River at Wauna | 11.67 | −0.33 |
| Mar 30, 2017 | Columbia River at Wauna | 11.54 | −0.46 |
| Apr 27, 2017 | Columbia River at Wauna | 11.23 | −0.77 |
| Oct 16, 2016 | Columbia River at Wauna | 11.10 | −0.90 |
| Nov 15, 2016 | Columbia River at Wauna | 11.09 | −0.91 |
River gauges
| Columbia River at Wauna | 12.0 | 12.67 ft | 0 |
- 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.
High tide flooding
Most in one year, Astoria
26 days
May 1982 to April 1983.
Last ten years
7.2 days a year
At Astoria, 2016–26.
Moderate or major
62 days
Since 1925, 0 of them major.
- High tide flooding days are days on which a NOAA tide gauge recorded water at or above NOAA's minor flood threshold, set from the gauge's tide range, counted by meteorological year (May to April). These are the counts in NOAA's annual high tide flooding reports; they are not National Weather Service flood stages. Years with less than 80 percent of data are left out.
NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, through April 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.
Drought
In severe drought or worse for 96 of 1,581 months since 1895 (6%); the longest spell lasted 11 months.
96
Months in severe drought or worse since 1895
18
Months in extreme drought
6%
Share of all months, severe or worse
Lowest reading
July 1924
−5.07, extreme drought
Longest severe spell
11 months
November 2018 to September 2019.
Latest month
September 2026
−2.08, moderate drought
Last severe month: September 2025.
- 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.
Earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis and landslides
5 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles since 1900; the largest was magnitude 5.2 in 1962.
2
Magnitude 2.5+ inside the county since 1973
45
Magnitude 3+ within 50 miles since 1973
5
Magnitude 4+ within 50 miles since 1900
2
Magnitude 5+ within 50 miles since 1900
Largest within 50 miles
November 5, 1962
5 km E of Bridgeton, Oregon; 38.7 miles away, 9.3 miles deep.
Most recent, magnitude 3 or more
October 22, 2026
Magnitude 3.0
3 km W of Columbia City, Oregon; 25.4 miles away.
Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles
| Dec 26, 1963 | 4.5 | 5.8 |
| Nov 5, 1962 | 5.2 | 38.7 |
| Nov 6, 1961 | 4.5 | 46.7 |
| Nov 16, 1957 | 4.0 | 34.4 |
| Dec 15, 1953 | 5.0 | 37.3 |
- 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).
- 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.
Tsunamis
Highest water recorded
Mar 28, 1964
10.0 ft, Seaside, OR
From Prince William Sound, AK (magnitude 9.2 earthquake).
On record
20 tsunamis
Since 1854; 1 death recorded here.
| Jul 29, 2025 | Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, M8.8 | 0.4 | 0 |
| Jan 15, 2022 | Tonga Islands | 0.4 | 0 |
| Apr 1, 2014 | Northern Chile, M8.2 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Oct 28, 2012 | British Columbia, M7.7 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Mar 11, 2011 | Honshu Island, M9.1 | 0.6 | 0 |
| Feb 27, 2010 | Central Chile, M8.8 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Sep 29, 2009 | Samoa Islands, M8.1 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Nov 15, 2006 | S. Kuril Islands, M8.3 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Jun 23, 2001 | S. Peru, M8.4 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Mar 28, 1964 | Prince William Sound, AK, M9.2 | 10.0 | 1 |
| May 22, 1960 | Southern Chile, M9.5 | 4.9 | 0 |
| Mar 9, 1957 | Andreanof Islands, AK, M8.6 | 0.3 | 0 |
| Nov 4, 1952 | Kamchatka, M9.0 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Apr 1, 1946 | Unimak Island, AK, M8.6 | 5.9 | 0 |
| Aug 23, 1872 | Fox Islands, Aleutian Islands, AK | 0.3 | 0 |
| Aug 14, 1868 | Northern Chile, M8.5 | 0.6 | 0 |
| Aug 13, 1868 | Northern Chile, M8.5 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Apr 3, 1868 | Hawaii, M7.9 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Dec 24, 1854 | Nankaido, M8.4 | 0.3 | 0 |
| Dec 23, 1854 | Enshunada Sea, M8.3 | 0.3 | 0 |
- Places where NOAA's Global Historical Tsunami Database records a tsunami's water arriving, with the greatest height it reached above sea level at the time. Only tsunamis NOAA rates probable or definite are counted. Heights from eyewitness accounts and tide gauges are mixed, and older events are less completely recorded.
NOAA NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database, retrieved October 30, 2026.
Volcanoes within 100 miles
| Mount St. Helens | 56.8 | Very high |
| West Crater volcanic field | 62.1 | Low |
| Indian Heaven Volcanic Field | 74.9 | Low |
| Mount Hood | 85.3 | Very high |
| Mount Adams | 89.7 | High |
| Mount Rainier | 90.2 | Very high |
- 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
4,228
Landslides mapped, probable or better
342
With a recorded date
3
Source inventories
Mapped by OR DOGAMI (4,187), NASA (38), West Coast Slow Moving (Yuankun and others, 2021) (3).
- 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.
Severe weather and other events
54 events in the National Weather Service record, 50 of them since 1996.
2
Hail reports, 1 inch or larger
1
Hail, 2 inches or larger
4
Damaging gusts, 58 mph+
3
Winter weather events since 1996
0
Heat events since 1996
3
Cold events since 1996
Largest hail
January 18, 2018
2.00 inches
Strongest measured or estimated gust
June 5, 1957
96 mph
More event types since 1996
| High surf and sneaker waves | 1 | 0 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 |
Costliest events since 1996
- Nov 24, 2016Heavy Rain$13,000
National Weather Service narrative
A total of 3.52 inches of rain was recorded at the Astoria Airport weather station from 1 AM to 10 PM. A landslide was reported on Highway 30, blocking one lane and damaging a car. Another landslide was reported on US Highway 103 near milepost 7.
- Jan 5, 1998Tornado$3,000
National Weather Service narrative
A weak tornado did minor damage to the Kinni-Kinnic Lodge and an adjacent home on Beach Street in Seaside.
- Feb 24, 2025High Wind, Clatsop County Coast$2,000
National Weather Service narrative
The Astoria-Megler Bridge ODT76 measured a peak gust of 76 mph 02/25 0106 PST, and was near or above 58 mph 1300 2/24 through 0700 2/25. Additionally the high winds caused a tree to strike a car carrying a family traveling near Seaside on U.S. 26 near milepost 8 - 3 people where injured, one seriously.
- 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.
Weather records
From Astoria Airport (port Of), 4.5 miles from the county’s population centre, with records from 1953.
- All-time high
- 101°FJun 27, 2021
- All-time low
- 6°F2 times, most recently Dec 21, 1990
- Warmest night
- 63°F3 times, most recently Aug 7, 2023
- Coldest day
- 19°FFeb 3, 1989
- Wettest day
- 5.56 inNov 25, 1998
- Snowiest day
- 10.8 inJan 12, 1971
- Hottest year
- 2016mean 54.2°F
- Coldest year
- 1955mean 48.5°F
- Wettest year
- 199692.70 in
- Driest year
- 198541.58 in
Station Astoria Airport (port Of) (USW00094224), 11 ft elevation, 4.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1953 to October 26, 2026; 99.6% 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.
Federal disaster declarations
19 since 1953. The most recent: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, April 7, 2026.
| Apr 7, 2026 | Severe Storm | DR-4907-OR |
| Mar 28, 2020 | Biological | DR-4499-OR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | EM-3429-OR |
| Feb 17, 2016 | Severe Storm | DR-4258-OR |
| Feb 17, 2011 | Severe Storm | DR-1956-OR |
| Mar 2, 2009 | Severe Storm | DR-1824-OR |
| Dec 8, 2007 | Severe Storm | DR-1733-OR |
| Feb 22, 2007 | Severe Storm | DR-1683-OR |
| Dec 29, 2006 | Severe Storm | DR-1672-OR |
| Mar 20, 2006 | Severe Storm | DR-1632-OR |
| Sep 7, 2005 | Coastal Storm | EM-3228-OR |
| Feb 19, 2004 | Severe Storm | DR-1510-OR |
| Mar 19, 1996 | Severe Storm | DR-1107-OR |
| Feb 9, 1996 | Flood | DR-1099-OR |
| Aug 2, 1994 | Fishing Losses | DR-1036-OR |
| Jan 24, 1990 | Flood | DR-853-OR |
| Jan 21, 1972 | Flood | DR-319-OR |
| Feb 13, 1971 | Flood | DR-301-OR |
| Dec 24, 1964 | Flood | DR-184-OR |
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.
How this compares
Where Clatsop County stands among 36 counties in Oregon and 3,143 in the United States.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 5 | 12 / 36 |
| Tornadoes rated F3/EF3 or stronger | 0 | — |
| Tropical cyclones within 50 mi | 0 | — |
| Hurricane-strength passes within 50 mi | 0 | — |
| Wildfire acres since 1984 | 0 | — |
| Flood insurance claims | 160 | 12 / 36 |
| Flood insurance paid | $2.0 million | 12 / 36 |
| Disaster declarations | 19 | 13 / 36 |
| Flood events since 1996 | 19 | 24 / 36 |
| Hail and wind events since 1996 | 18 | 28 / 36 |
| Winter storm events since 1996 | 3 | 32 / 36 |
| Reported damage since 1996 | $18,000 | 36 / 36 |
| River crests at major flood stage | 0 | — |
| High tide flooding days a year, last 10 years | 7.2 | 1 / 36 |
| Months in severe drought since 1895 | 96 | 22 / 36 |
| Medium or heavy smoke days a year, last 10 years | 10.9 | 36 / 36 |
| Earthquakes M4+ within 50 mi since 1900 | 5 | 28 / 36 |
| Earthquakes M2.5+ in the county since 1973 | 2 | 29 / 36 |
Neighbouring counties
| Columbia County | 5 | 0 |
| Tillamook County | 7 | 0 |
| Wahkiakum County WA | 0 | 0 |
| Washington County | 7 | 0 |
Sources and vintage
Every number on this page comes from these public records.
- 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 USW00094224.
- River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
- Tide gauges NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, 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.
- Tsunamis NOAA NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database.
- 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.