NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Arlington, 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 Arlington, Washington since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 6 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 6
- 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 Arlington
The highest rating among the 6 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 13, 1986, came within 1 mile. Of the 6, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 2 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on May 18, 2005. Of the 226 Washington cities on this site, 49% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Arlington.
Compare Arlington's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Arlington
By decade
- 2000s2
- 1990s1
- 1980s1
- 1970s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 13, 1986 | F2 | 1 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 24, 1970 | F2 | 10 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 2005 | F1 | 9 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 26, 1971 | F1 | 17 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2004 | F0 | 9 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 24, 1997 | F0 | 20 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 6 of 6, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Arlington
The Storm Prediction Center has no hail reports within 10 miles of Arlington since 1955.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Arlington
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Everett, WA, 17 miles southwest of Arlington at 60 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 76°F and low of 55°F; December is the coolest, at 47°F and 34°F. November is the wettest at 5.8 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 1.0 inches; the year adds up to 40.2 inches. Highs reach 90°F on about 1 days a year. Lows fall below freezing on about 51 nights a year. That 40.2 inches is more than at 48 of the 86 Washington stations used on this site (56%). Granite Falls, 14 miles southeast, has its own station (Startup 1 E, WA): 68.3 inches a year, 28.1 more than here, and an August average high of 78°F against 76°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 48 | 35 | 5.0 |
| Feb | 50 | 35 | 3.7 |
| Mar | 55 | 37 | 4.1 |
| Apr | 60 | 41 | 3.4 |
| May | 66 | 47 | 2.7 |
| Jun | 70 | 52 | 2.3 |
| Jul | 75 | 55 | 1.0 |
| Aug | 76 | 55 | 1.2 |
| Sep | 70 | 50 | 2.3 |
| Oct | 61 | 43 | 3.7 |
| Nov | 52 | 38 | 5.8 |
| Dec | 47 | 34 | 5.0 |
| Year | 61 | 43 | 40.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Everett, WA (60 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.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Arlington's ZIP code 98223 have filed 298 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $7.9 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Torrential rain in 2006: 54 claims (18% of all) and $1.4 million, then Flooding in 1990 with 26. 29% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 128 Washington cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 117 have fewer than Arlington.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Torrential rain2006 | 54 | $1.4 million |
| Flooding1990 | 26 | $212,000 |
Snohomish County, which includes Arlington, has been named in 37 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 32 of them major disasters (by incident: 15 severe storms, 13 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 earthquakes). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on April 7, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Snohomish County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for coastal flooding; Relatively Low for tornadoes; Very Low for hail and strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $409.2 million a year, the 3rd highest of 39 Washington counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $111.9 million (27%), 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 Arlington
- Marysville, WA11 mi
- Lake Stevens, WA12 mi
- Granite Falls, WA14 mi
- Stanwood, WA16 mi
- Mount Vernon, WA18 mi
- Camano Island, WA20 mi
- Everett, WA21 mi
- Snohomish, WA21 mi
- Langley, WA22 mi
- Sedro Woolley, WA22 mi
- Mukilteo, WA23 mi
- Darrington, WA23 mi
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