Grays Harbor County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Grays Harbor 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 WA WGS (4,505), NASA (9).

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. Jan 6, 2022Flood$3.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rainfall of 6 to 10 inches, along with melting of remaining snow at lower elevations, lead to river flooding, significant urban and small stream flooding, and landslides. The peak of the rainfall was January 5 through January 7. Major flooding occurred on the Chehalis River and moderate flooding on the Satsop River. A motorist was stranded trying to cross a flooded road along the Chehalis River and was swept away when he left his vehicle. He was missing and presumed dead. Another man fatality occurred when an man tried to move his car out of flood danger and the car was swept away by flooding on the North River. Damages are reported and estimated; not all damages have been…

2. Jan 5, 2006Heavy Rain$2.9 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Governor declared a state of emergency after rain, at times heavy, over a period of about 10 days, caused over 7 million in damage, mainly to transportation infrastructure throughout western Washington. Mudslides closed parts of I-5 near the Pierce-Thurston county line, part of Highway 20 about a half mile east of Concrete, Highway 107 near Raymond, and Highway 166 near Port Orchard - where 3 cars crashed in the mud. In Bremerton, they totaled 16.2 inches of rainfall in 3 weeks, an amount which normally falls in 2 months. Mudslides halted Amtrak passenger train service between Everett and Olympia. In King County, there were 19 road closures from water over the roadway. Many…

3. Dec 3, 2007High Wind, Olympics$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Roads were either washed out or covered by fallen trees.

4. Mar 15, 1997Heavy Rain$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Along the coast 5 day rainfall totals from the 15th to the 19th ranged from 6.18 inches at Hoquiam to 12.03 inches at Forks. Montesano had 9 inches in the 24 hr period ending at 8 am on the 19th. Nearly 300 people were evacuated from their homes with damage to about 380 structures in Grays Harbor County. Grays Harbor was one of 10 counties that were in a state of emergency. 13 county roads were closed, including a stretch of Highway 101 that had never flooded before. The number of houses damaged by flooding or mudsides over the 5 day period was nearly 300 with 10 destroyed. Some people had nearly 5 ft of water in their homes.

5. Jan 7, 2009Flood$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Nearly 50 roads were closed in the county. The closed roads caused many school districts to cancel classes. Several businesses also closed. Near Copalis Crossing, the Humptulips River flooded several homes. A few homes near Elma were also flooded.

6. Mar 3, 1999Storm Surge/Tide$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tidal overflow due to high winds and heavy surf (to 35 feet) flooded some homes and damaged roads and city utilities.

7. Nov 4, 2006Flood$760,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   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.

8. Nov 12, 2008Heavy Rain$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Softened ground from heavy rain combined with strong winds blew down several trees, and their dislodged root balls collapsed an earthen section of the Mill Creek dam near Cosmopolis. A footbridge was knocked out and some nearby residential areas were flooded.

9. Jan 5, 2015Debris Flow$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A slide on the bluff has blocked all 4 lanes in and out of Aberdeen on US 12. Aberdeen school district schools and Grays Harbor College are closed. Record rainfall was seen throughout Grays Harbor, with 10.2��� near Lake Quinault and 5.5��� at Bowerman Field in Hoquiam. A few homes were damaged by mudslides in Hoquiam.

10. Dec 27, 1998Heavy Rain$200,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Heavy rain over a two day period caused damage to the Elma High School. The heavy rain also triggered mudslides, one which knocked a house off its foundation in Gig Harbor. SeaTac set a new two month precipitation record after 21.42 inches fell in Nov and Dec of 1998.

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

96°FSep 2, 1988

All-time low

9°FDec 8, 1972

Warmest night

65°F2 times, most recently Aug 14, 2023

Coldest day

19°FFeb 2, 1989

Wettest day

5.78 inJan 6, 2022

Snowiest day

7.0 in2 times, most recently Jan 12, 1971

Hottest year

2015mean 53.4°F

Coldest year

1955mean 47.6°F

Wettest year

195687.86 in

Driest year

198540.79 in

Station Hoquiam Bowerman Airport (USW00094225), 15 ft elevation, 7.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1953 to October 26, 2026; 99.4% 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 USW00094225.
• 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.