NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Airway Heights, WA
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Airway Heights, Washington since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 16 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 16
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Airway Heights
The highest rating among the 16 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 6, 1957, came within 21 miles. Of the 16, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 6 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 6. The most recent tornado was on April 18, 2024. Airway Heights has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 92% of the 226 Washington cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 16 times since 1963, with stones up to 1 inch (quarter size). Airway Heights has more hail reports within 10 miles than 98% of the 226 Washington cities.
Compare Airway Heights's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Airway Heights
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s2
- 2000s1
- 1990s3
- 1980s3
- 1970s1
- 1960s1
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, 1957 | F2 | 21 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1954 | F2 | 18 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1997 | F1 | 15 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 12, 1984 | F1 | 18 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 17, 1983 | F1 | 11 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 1981 | F1 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 29, 1970 | F1 | 12 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 18, 2024 | EF0 | 2 mi | 0.01 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 6, 2022 | EF0 | 11 mi | 2.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 6, 2022 | EF0 | 3 mi | 0.59 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 9, 2016 | EF0 | 1 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 22, 2016 | EF0 | 2 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 16, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Airway Heights
The Storm Prediction Center has 16 hail reports within 10 miles of Airway Heights since 1963, made on 12 separate days. Of these, 5 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1 inch (quarter size), was reported on 5 days, most recently August 31, 2007. The most recent report is from August 31, 2007. July has the most reports, 6.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Airway Heights
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Spokane WFO, WA, 3 miles northwest of Airway Heights at 2,392 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 52°F; December is the coolest, at 32°F and 22°F. December is the wettest at 2.4 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 17.3 inches over 56 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 20 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 157 nights a year. Snowfall averages 48.2 inches a year, most of it in December. That 17.3 inches is more than at 27 of the 86 Washington stations used on this site (31%). Spokane, 9 miles east, has its own station (Spokane Felts Field, WA): 17.4 inches a year, the same as here, and a July average high of 87°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 23 | 2.0 | 7 | 13.0 |
| Feb | 39 | 24 | 1.4 | 5 | 6.8 |
| Mar | 48 | 29 | 1.8 | 7 | 4.6 |
| Apr | 57 | 34 | 1.5 | 4 | 1.3 |
| May | 66 | 41 | 1.6 | 5 | 0.3 |
| Jun | 72 | 47 | 1.4 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 52 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 51 | 0.4 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 43 | 0.6 | 2 | 0.1 |
| Oct | 57 | 34 | 1.5 | 5 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 41 | 27 | 2.2 | 7 | 6.1 |
| Dec | 32 | 22 | 2.4 | 8 | 15.5 |
| Year | 57 | 36 | 17.3 | 56 | 48.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Spokane WFO, WA (2,392 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Airway Heights
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 68 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Airway Heights: 43 thunderstorm wind reports, 14 floods, 4 flash floods, 4 lightning strikes and 3 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 13, and the NWS estimated $5.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 89 mph, on June 21, 2005.
June 21, 2005: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Airway Heights — 12 injured.
April 4, 2000: thunderstorm wind in Airway Heights — 1 injured, $80,000 damage.
NWS: “Several trees were uprooted due to strong winds. One of which fell on a young girl and injured her.”
May 4, 2016: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Airway Heights — $4.8 million damage.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Spokane County, which includes Airway Heights, has been named in 33 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 17 fires, 6 floods, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Wildfires, on February 15, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Spokane County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $98.8 million a year, the 11th highest of 39 Washington counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $52.9 million (54%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 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).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets 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).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Airway Heights
- Fairchild Afb, WA5 mi
- Medical Lake, WA6 mi
- Spokane, WA9 mi
- Nine Mile Falls, WA11 mi
- Cheney, WA12 mi
- Spokane Valley, WA17 mi
- Colbert, WA17 mi
- Mead, WA21 mi
- Otis Orchards, WA22 mi
- Deer Park, WA23 mi
- Liberty Lake, WA24 mi
- Chattaroy, WA24 mi
All Washington cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Airway Heights with another place →