NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Black Diamond, 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 Black Diamond, Washington since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 10 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 10
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Black Diamond
The strongest of the 10 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on December 12, 1969; its path came within 21 miles. Of the 10, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 3 have come since 2000. June and September have had the most tornadoes, 3 each. The most recent tornado was on September 30, 2013. Black Diamond has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 69% of the 226 Washington cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles once, in 2008, with stones of 0.9 inches. Black Diamond has more hail reports within 10 miles than 46% of the 226 Washington cities.
Compare Black Diamond's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Black Diamond
By decade
- 2010s1
- 2000s2
- 1990s2
- 1970s2
- 1960s3(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 12, 1969 | F3 | 21 mi | 3.8 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Sep 30, 2013 | EF1 | 22 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 6, 2009 | EF1 | 11 mi | 9.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 27, 2001 | F1 | 12 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1997 | F1 | 21 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 12, 1978 | F1 | 21 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 22, 1971 | F1 | 16 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 28, 1962 | F1 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 23, 1996 | F0 | 23 mi | 0.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 18, 1964 | F0 | 13 mi | 5.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 10 of 10, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Black Diamond
The Storm Prediction Center has one hail report within 10 miles of Black Diamond, from July 2, 2008: 0.9 inches.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Black Diamond
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Landsburg, WA, 5 miles northeast of Black Diamond at 535 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 77°F and low of 52°F; December is the coolest, at 45°F and 32°F. November is the wettest at 8.5 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 1.3 inches; the year adds up to 59.8 inches over 129 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 5 days a year, almost all from July to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 70 nights a year. That 59.8 inches is more than at 68 of the 86 Washington stations used on this site (79%). Covington, 6 miles northwest, has its own station (Kent, WA): 40.3 inches a year, 19.5 less than here, and an August average high of 78°F against 77°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Tacoma, WA, 19 miles west, averaged 56°F in September and 48°F in March over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F. Sea level at the Seattle tide gauge, 25 miles from Black Diamond, has risen 0.82 ± 0.03 inches per decade from 1899 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 8.2 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 42 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 46 | 33 | 8.0 | 15 | 49 |
| Feb | 49 | 33 | 5.4 | 12 | 48 |
| Mar | 53 | 35 | 6.2 | 14 | 48 |
| Apr | 59 | 39 | 5.6 | 13 | 49 |
| May | 66 | 44 | 3.9 | 10 | 51 |
| Jun | 70 | 48 | 3.2 | 8 | 53 |
| Jul | 77 | 51 | 1.3 | 4 | 55 |
| Aug | 77 | 52 | 1.6 | 3 | 56 |
| Sep | 71 | 47 | 2.8 | 6 | 56 |
| Oct | 60 | 41 | 5.8 | 12 | 55 |
| Nov | 50 | 36 | 8.5 | 16 | 53 |
| Dec | 45 | 32 | 7.5 | 15 | 51 |
| Year | 60 | 41 | 59.8 | 129 | 52 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Landsburg, WA (535 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Tacoma, WA, from NOAA Tides & Currents. 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
King County, which includes Black Diamond, has been named in 35 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 31 of them major disasters (by incident: 17 floods, 11 severe storms, 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 King County a Very High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for inland flooding; Relatively High for heat waves; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, coastal flooding and lightning; Very Low for hail and strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $1.68 billion a year, the highest of 39 Washington counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $416.9 million (25%), 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.