Columbia County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Columbia 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.

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.

Tsunamis

1. 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

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 OR DOGAMI (5,044), NASA (61), 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. Dec 3, 2007Flood$36.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Upper Nehalem River flooded near Vernonia, and did devastating damage to the city. Numerous homes were completely flooded, and many families were evacuated. Quite a few lost everything they had. NOTE: Damage estimates are for the entire Columbia county, with almost a third of the damage in the town of Vernonia.

2. Dec 9, 2015Flood$2.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Nehalem River near Vernonia flooded Vernonia resulting in evacuation of residents and damage to many buildings and vehicles. A bridge washed out on TImber Road and isolated the Glenwood Community. There was also significant flooding in St Helens, where 17 homes were evacuated, and many roads were damaged and closed. Highway 30 and the business district in Rainier also flooded. An elderly couple drove around a barrier of a closed road, and was swept away by high water. The man escaped through the sunroof of the vehicle, but the woman ended up drowning. Flooding and landslides cut off Western Columbia County.

3. Dec 8, 2015Flood$824,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding from the Nehalem River and Rock Creek in Vernonia resulted in evacuation of homes and the implementation of the Vernonia Emergency Command Center. Heavy rain resulted in a land slide that closed OR47 at mile marker 8.

4. Jan 1, 1997Flood, Lower Columbia$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rainfall over Northwest Oregon during the last week of December caused 16 rivers in Northwestern Oregon to flood. Dozens of homes were flooded on various rivers and numerous highways were inundated throughout the region.

5. Dec 26, 1996Flood, Lower Columbia$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rains caused 16 rivers in Northwest Oregon to flood during the last week of December and continued into early January. Dozens of homes were flooded on various rivers and numerous highways were rendered impassable.

6. Dec 24, 2008Winter Storm, Lower Columbia$160,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Four inches of snow fell in the lower Columbia region of northwest Oregon.|This snowfall combined with accumulations from the previous few days resulted in a roof collapse at two boat marinas, that resulted in one boat sinking and damage to 8 boats.

7. Dec 7, 2015Flood$124,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain resulted in flooding of the Nehalem River near Vernonia, and several small streams in the area. The Timber Road Bridge over Gales Creek washed out north of Highway 6.

8. Feb 3, 2006Strong Wind, Lower Columbia$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong winter storm brought high winds to portions of northwest Oregon. Following are some high winds reported with this storm:Clatsop Spit reported 43 knots with gusts to 67 knotsLincoln City reported 39 knots with gusts to 68 knotsNewport Jetty reported 31 knots with gusts to 61 knotsSugar Loaf RAWS reported 23 knots with gusts to 55 knotsPortland Airport reported 21 knots with gusts to 38 knotsAdditionally, many residents experienced power outages due to trees blown down by strong winds. An estimated 3500 residents of Lane County were without power for portions of the night.

9. Mar 15, 2015High Wind, Lower Columbia$60,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Columbia River Fire and Rescue confirmed that a few large trees fell onto the Gable Park Apartment Building resulting in the displacement of 15 people. The trees also damaged a few cars.

10. Nov 10, 2020Tornado$40,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A tornado touched down around 12:20 PM in Northwest St. Helens, OR near the intersection of Pittsburgh and Robnette Road. The tornado moved southeastward, ending near just east of McBride Elementary School. The most damage was done near Barr Ave and Pittsburgh Road, with damage to trees, a camper, fences and snapped power lines.

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

111°FJun 28, 2021

All-time low

−7°FDec 20, 1990

Warmest night

62°FJul 22, 2007

Coldest day

12°FFeb 4, 1989

Wettest day

3.40 inNov 20, 1997

Snowiest day

16.0 inFeb 14, 1990

Hottest year

2015mean 52.0°F

Coldest year

1985mean 47.3°F

Wettest year

199671.16 in

Driest year

201331.61 in

Snowiest season

45.4 in1968-69

Station Vernonia #2 (USC00358884), 625 ft elevation, 12.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1967 to August 31, 2026; 95.6% 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.

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 USC00358884.
• 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.
• 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.