San Juan County

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.

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.

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 WA WGS (5).

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 16, 2003High Wind, San Juan$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   High winds cut power to about 50,000 homes and businesses. Dozens of trees downed, one hit a mobile home and another crushed 4 cars. A man was killed as he tried to stomp out a fire caused by a downed power line. In Conway, a 95 year old barn was blown over.

2. Nov 26, 2006Heavy Snow, San Juan$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Four to 14 inches of snow fell. The heavy snow downed trees and power lines and caused travel problems.

3. Dec 14, 2006High Wind, San Juan$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several boats sank or washed ashore in Fisherman Bay on Lopez Island. Wind gusts were estimated to 100 mph.

4. Mar 12, 2003High Wind, San Juan$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Two frontal systems brought very windy conditions to western Washington for nearly 24 hours. Strongest winds were along the coast and in the north interior. Trees fell on nearly a dozen houses or mobile homes, and in one instance, killed a person. One industrial building had its roof blown off. There were power outages to about 100,000 homes and businesses, as well as blocked roads from fallen trees or utility lines.

5. Nov 15, 2021Flood$475,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain cause urban and small stream flooding, washing out some roads.

6. Dec 15, 2001High Wind, San Juan$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong pressure gradient developed over NW Washington for several days. Sustained winds of 40 mph with gusts to 60 effected parts of Western Washington at times during the 15th and 16th. Keystone ferry service was suspended at times and power was knocked out over parts of Skagit and Island counties. One man died when a tree fell on his car while he was driving in Skagit County.

7. Nov 12, 2007High Wind, San Juan$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Deep low pressure moved from the eastern Pacific northeast into northern Vancouver Island, creating strong pressure differences and strong damaging southerly winds across much of western Washington. The wind blew down trees and knocked power to nearly 240,000 customers at the height of the storm, including about 180,000 in the Puget Sound region.

8. Nov 6, 2014High Wind, San Juan$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lopez Island had 41-43 mph sustained wind from 719 AM to 1009 AM. About 5000 customers lost power.

9. Feb 2, 1999High Wind, San Juan$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Along the coast, sustained winds of 40 mph were reported. The peak gust of 68 mph was reported from Friday Harbor. 60,000 customers were without power and the Hood Canal Bridge was temporally closed. High winds ripped several roofs off buildings, pushed boat houses off their moorings and caused trees to fall on two houses.

10. Jun 18, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$25,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Thunderstorm winds blew a tree into a cabin, knocking down a wall and damaging parts of the interior.

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

100°FAug 12, 2021

All-time low

−2°F3 times, most recently Feb 1, 1950

Warmest night

66°F2 times, most recently Jun 28, 2021

Coldest day

9°F2 times, most recently Dec 29, 1968

Wettest day

3.30 inJan 12, 1976

Snowiest day

10.0 inDec 31, 1968

Hottest year

2015mean 53.1°F

Coldest year

1955mean 46.7°F

Wettest year

197147.18 in

Driest year

195222.37 in

Station Bellingham International Airport (USW00024217), 150 ft elevation, 25.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1949 to October 26, 2026; 93.6% 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.

• 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 USW00024217.
• 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.