Curry County

Every recorded tornado

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

High tide flooding

1. 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.

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 (8,261), West Coast Slow Moving (Yuankun and others, 2021) (48), NASA (31).

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. Mar 11, 2011Tsunami, Curry County Coast$7.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The first of a series of surges caused by the tsunami struck Port Orford at 07:11 PDT. The maximum recorded amplitude was 2.02 meters which occurred around the seventh surge. On the US West Coast, the only station that recorded a higher surge was Crescent City CA with a 2.47m amplitude. The surges gradually subsided during the next few days. Major damage occurred at the Brookings Harbor, where 40% of the floating docks were destroyed and many boats were damaged or destroyed. Docks, pilings, and channel buoys were also damaged at Gold Beach OR. Four men were pulled into the ocean at Pistol River. Two were rescued while the other two made it back to shore on their own.

2. Dec 26, 2005Flood, South Central Oregon Coast$4.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Estimated total damage in Coos County. 54 homes and businesses damaged, most due to a dike failure in Coos Bay.

3. Nov 29, 2012Flood$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Curry Coastal Pilot reported over 2 million dollars in infrastructure damage in Brookings and another 2 million in Curry County due to recent heavy rains. Sinkholes and overflowing sewage facilities were also reported.

4. Dec 26, 2005Flood, Curry County Coast$1.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Estimated total damage in Curry County. 1 to 2 homes damaged, a major landslide just south of Port Orford caused 1 million in damage to Highway 101.

5. Sep 19, 2005High Surf, South Central Oregon Coast$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A 38-foot tuna charter boat capsized near the Umpqua River Jetty in Winchester Bay, off of Reedsport, Oregon. The Coast Guard rescued the vessel captain and a passenger. Two others were found dead in the water, and a fifth person remains missing.

6. Oct 25, 2014High Wind, South Central Oregon Coast$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Long Prairie RAWS reported a gust to 66 mph at 25/0913 PST. The Port Orford NOS-NYLON reported numerous gusts exceeding 57 mph between 25/0536 and 25/0912 PST. The peak gust was 77 mph recorded at 25/0448 PST. The Port of Port Orford reported 100 mph winds and 28 foot waves, which damaged a jetty and caused extensive damage at the dock. Numerous crab totes were lost, the Hallmark Fisheries office was destroyed, other offices were flooded. and boulder were tossed into the dock and parking lot. Damage was estimated at $1 million dollars Trees toppled, some of which fell across trailers at the Madrona RV park. One trailer caught fire, and the occupant was injured.

7. Nov 9, 2002Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A spotter called at 1500 PST on 11/7 and reported the waterspout/tornado that occurred 9 hours earlier.

8. Jan 26, 2016High Surf, South Central Oregon Coast$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The 42.3' steel-hulled crab fishing vessel Sarah Jo had a crew of 3. She was crossing the Coos bar around 4 pm local time, when the crankshaft broke, possibly as a result of rough conditions. After losing power, the boat then took a breaking wave on the bar, capsized, then sank. A USCG report shortly before the incident reported 10-12 foot steep breaking seas within the channel, and 8-10 foot steep seas just beyond the jetty. Conditions were worsening during rescue operations. Winds were south around 10 KT with 5 NM visibility. The bar was restricted to vessels below 40 feet. Note: The Sarah Jo was attempting to recover pots for the Eagle III, a crab fishing vessel that collided…

9. Feb 7, 1998Storm Surge/Tide$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Unusually heavy surf battered the coast washing away part of Port Orfords sewage treatment system and threatened the town's water supply. Dune that seperates the ocean from Garrison Lake (Port Orford's water supply) was eroded allowing some salt water to spill into the the lake.

10. Nov 12, 2006High Wind, Curry County Coast$10,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The Curry Coastal Pilot reported widespread power outages and several trees down. One tree fell on an occupied RV, but no injuries occurred. Damage was estimated at 10000 dollars.

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

95°FSep 28, 2020

All-time low

24°FJan 3, 1950

Warmest night

62°FSep 18, 2020

Coldest day

32°FFeb 24, 2023

Wettest day

6.01 inDec 14, 2016

Snowiest day

2.0 inJan 25, 1950

Hottest year

2014mean 53.9°F

Coldest year

1951mean 50.2°F

Wettest year

202481.71 in

Driest year

201328.92 in

Station Crescent City Mcnamara Airport (USW00024286), 56 ft elevation, 32.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1949 to October 26, 2026; 86.7% 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 USW00024286.
• 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.