Skamania County
Population 12,669 (2025) 1,658 sq mi
Large wildfires have burned 41,414 acres of Skamania County since 1984, 18th most of 39 counties in Washington; the largest was the Big Hollow Fire in 2020.
Hazard fingerprint Each spoke is this county’s percentile among U.S. counties where that hazard occurs. How it is computed
- Wildfire burn scars since 19843
At a glance
The record for Skamania County in eight numbers. Each links to its section below.
Tornadoes
No tornado is recorded here in the Storm Prediction Center database, which begins in 1950.
Hurricanes and tropical storms
No tropical storm or hurricane has tracked within 100 miles since records began in 1851.
Wildfire and smoke
41,414 acres burned in 3 large fires since 1984, equal to 3.9% of the land.
Largest
September 8, 2020
Big Hollow Fire, 24,227 acres
24,243 acres inside Skamania County.
Most recent
September 23, 2022
Siouxon Fire
2,545 acres in total.
Every large fire
| Siouxon | 2022 | 2,549 | 2,545 |
| Big Hollow | 2020 | 24,243 | 24,227 |
| Cascade Creek | 2012 | 14,621 | 20,642 |
- 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
Smokiest year
2021: 32 days
Heavy smoke on 16 days in 2021, the most of any year.
Last 10 years
18.7 days a year
Medium or heavy smoke, 2016 to 2025.
2025
14 days
Medium or heavy smoke. 26 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
15 federal flood insurance claims since 1996, with $334,000 paid.
Most claims in one year
2006: 6 claims
$255,000 paid.
Claims by ZIP code
| 98671 | 8 | $155,000 |
| 98648 | 6 | $79,000 |
Flood events since 1996
- Heavy Rain7
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.
Drought
In severe drought or worse for 77 of 1,581 months since 1895 (5%); the longest spell lasted 5 months.
77
Months in severe drought or worse since 1895
3
Months in extreme drought
5%
Share of all months, severe or worse
Lowest reading
July 1924
−4.19, extreme drought
Longest severe spell
5 months
May 1924 to September 1924.
Latest month
September 2026
−2.48, 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
356 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles since 1900; the largest was magnitude 6.7 in 1949.
2,630
Magnitude 2.5+ inside the county since 1973
1,366
Magnitude 3+ within 50 miles since 1973
356
Magnitude 4+ within 50 miles since 1900
21
Magnitude 5+ within 50 miles since 1900
Largest within 50 miles
April 13, 1949
4 km WNW of Roy, Washington; 46.6 miles away, 31.1 miles deep.
Most recent, magnitude 3 or more
October 22, 2026
Magnitude 3.0
3 km W of Columbia City, Oregon; 37.5 miles away.
Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles
- 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
May 18, 1980
820.2 ft, Spirit Lake West, WA
From Washington.
On record
1 tsunami
Since 1980.
| May 18, 1980 | Washington | 820.2 | 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 | Inside | Very high |
| Indian Heaven Volcanic Field | Inside | Low |
| West Crater volcanic field | Inside | Low |
| Mount Adams | 11.3 | High |
| Mount Hood | 22.0 | Very high |
| Mount Rainier | 34.0 | Very high |
| Mount Jefferson | 64.2 | Low |
| Blue Lake Crater | 81.9 | Low |
| Sand Mountain volcanic field | 82.2 | Very low |
| Belknap Crater | 89.5 | Low |
- 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
6,238
Landslides mapped, probable or better
153
With a recorded date
4
Source inventories
Mapped by WA WGS (6,196), West Coast Slow Moving (Yuankun and others, 2021) (21), USGS Seismogenic Mass Movements (16), NASA (5).
- 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
150 events in the National Weather Service record, 150 of them since 1996.
1
Hail reports, 1 inch or larger
0
Hail, 2 inches or larger
1
Damaging gusts, 58 mph+
109
Winter weather events since 1996
1
Heat events since 1996
3
Cold events since 1996
Largest hail
May 4, 2017
1.25 inches
Strongest measured or estimated gust
January 12, 2021
81 mph
More event types since 1996
| Debris flows | 1 | 0 |
| Avalanches | 1 | 1 |
Costliest events since 1996
- Sep 8, 2020High Wind, South Washington Cascades$950 million
National Weather Service narrative
The Three Corner Rock RAWS (TRKW1) recorded a max sustained wind of 37 mph, and a peak gust of 67 mph.
- May 14, 2023Debris Flow$500,000
National Weather Service narrative
The Spirit Lake Outlet Bridge on State Route 504 near milepost 43 was washed out by rock, mud, ice, and water around 9 pm, blocking access to the Johnston Ridge Observatory. Twelve people and one dog were airlifted from one side of the slide to the other as there are no alternate routes. The slide caused power outages in the area.
- Dec 7, 2015Heavy Rain$128,000
National Weather Service narrative
Heavy rain resulted in small stream flooding and land slides across Skamania County.
- Dec 8, 2015High Wind, South Washington Cascades$58,000
National Weather Service narrative
The Three Corner Rock RAWS measured two surges of strong winds on December 8th, once between 11 am and 2 pm, and then again between 5 pm and 9 pm. The sustained winds during these two time periods was 56 mph. A peak gust of 77 mph was reported in the first surge, and a peak gust of 92 mph was measured in the evening.
- Dec 14, 2021Frost/Freeze, South Washington Cascades$20,000
National Weather Service narrative
Rain and snow showers occurred overnight, with clearing skies and temperatures dipping to or below freezing in the morning. A vehicle, carrying high school students on their way to school, slid and crashed into a fence and a house around 8am in the morning.
- 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 Bonneville Dam, 3.8 miles from the county’s population centre, with records from 1937.
- All-time high
- 111°FJun 29, 2021
- All-time low
- 0°FDec 31, 1968
- Warmest night
- 72°F3 times, most recently Jun 27, 2021
- Coldest day
- 6°FDec 31, 1968
- Wettest day
- 6.23 inDec 27, 1937
- Snowiest day
- 39.0 inJan 9, 1980
- Hottest year
- 1992mean 56.1°F
- Coldest year
- 1955mean 49.7°F
- Wettest year
- 1996118.61 in
- Driest year
- 194447.30 in
- Snowiest season
- 92.0 in1949-50
Median first snow
December 18
Earliest: November 1, 1973
Median last snow
February 9
Latest: March 18, 1952
10 of 72 winters had no measurable snow.
Station Bonneville Dam (USC00350897), 62 ft elevation, 3.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1937 to October 27, 2026; 97.3% 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
29 since 1953. The most recent: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, April 7, 2026.
| Apr 7, 2026 | Flood | DR-4906-WA |
| Apr 28, 2024 | Severe Storm | DR-4775-WA |
| Jul 3, 2023 | Fire | FM-5467-WA |
| Jan 12, 2023 | Severe Storm | DR-4682-WA |
| Oct 17, 2022 | Fire | FM-5456-WA |
| Mar 29, 2022 | Flood | DR-4650-WA |
| Apr 8, 2021 | Severe Storm | DR-4593-WA |
| Feb 4, 2021 | Fire | DR-4584-WA |
| Mar 22, 2020 | Biological | DR-4481-WA |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | EM-3427-WA |
| Apr 21, 2017 | Flood | DR-4309-WA |
| Feb 2, 2016 | Flood | DR-4253-WA |
| Jan 15, 2016 | Severe Storm | DR-4249-WA |
| Aug 21, 2015 | Fire | EM-3372-WA |
| Mar 5, 2012 | Severe Storm | DR-4056-WA |
| Mar 25, 2011 | Severe Storm | DR-1963-WA |
| Mar 2, 2009 | Severe Storm | DR-1825-WA |
| Jan 30, 2009 | Flood | DR-1817-WA |
| Sep 21, 2007 | Fire | FM-2731-WA |
| Feb 14, 2007 | Severe Storm | DR-1682-WA |
| Dec 12, 2006 | Severe Storm | DR-1671-WA |
| Sep 7, 2005 | Coastal Storm | EM-3227-WA |
| Mar 1, 2001 | Earthquake | DR-1361-WA |
| Jan 17, 1997 | Severe Storm | DR-1159-WA |
| Feb 9, 1996 | Flood | DR-1100-WA |
| May 21, 1980 | Volcanic Eruption | DR-623-WA |
| Dec 10, 1977 | Flood | DR-545-WA |
| Feb 1, 1972 | Flood | DR-322-WA |
| Dec 29, 1964 | Flood | DR-185-WA |
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 Skamania County stands among 39 counties in Washington and 3,143 in the United States.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 0 | — |
| Tornadoes rated F3/EF3 or stronger | 0 | — |
| Tropical cyclones within 50 mi | 0 | — |
| Hurricane-strength passes within 50 mi | 0 | — |
| Wildfire acres since 1984 | 41,414 | 18 / 39 |
| Flood insurance claims | 15 | 30 / 39 |
| Flood insurance paid | $334,000 | 28 / 39 |
| Disaster declarations | 29 | 14 / 39 |
| Flood events since 1996 | 7 | 34 / 39 |
| Hail and wind events since 1996 | 24 | 27 / 39 |
| Winter storm events since 1996 | 109 | 18 / 39 |
| Reported damage since 1996 | $951 million | 4 / 39 |
| River crests at major flood stage | 0 | — |
| High tide flooding days a year, last 10 years | 0.0 | — |
| Months in severe drought since 1895 | 77 | 35 / 39 |
| Medium or heavy smoke days a year, last 10 years | 18.7 | 21 / 39 |
| Earthquakes M4+ within 50 mi since 1900 | 356 | 5 / 39 |
| Earthquakes M2.5+ in the county since 1973 | 2,630 | 1 / 39 |
Neighbouring counties
| Clark County | 15 | 0 |
| Cowlitz County | 5 | 0 |
| Hood River County OR | 0 | 0 |
| Klickitat County | 0 | 0 |
| Lewis County | 3 | 0 |
| Multnomah County OR | 6 | 0 |
| Yakima County | 8 | 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 USC00350897.
- 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.