NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Cheney, 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 Cheney, Washington since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 15 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 15
- 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 Cheney
The highest rating among the 15 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 6, 1957, came within 19 miles. Of the 15, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 7 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 5. The most recent tornado was on April 18, 2024. Cheney has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 88% of the 226 Washington cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 3 times since 1997, with stones up to 1 inch (quarter size). Cheney has more hail reports within 10 miles than 73% of the 226 Washington cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Cheney
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s3
- 2000s1
- 1990s2
- 1980s2
- 1970s1
- 1960s1
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, 1957 | F2 | 19 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1954 | F2 | 11 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 12, 1984 | F1 | 25 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 17, 1983 | F1 | 3 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 29, 1970 | F1 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 18, 2024 | EF0 | 13 mi | 0.01 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 6, 2022 | EF0 | 17 mi | 2.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 6, 2022 | EF0 | 14 mi | 0.59 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 9, 2016 | EF0 | 13 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 22, 2016 | EF0 | 14 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 5, 2011 | EF0 | 18 mi | 0.02 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 2004 | F0 | 12 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 15, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Cheney
The Storm Prediction Center has 3 hail reports within 10 miles of Cheney since 1997. Of these, 2 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1 inch (quarter size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 17, 2005. The most recent report is from May 17, 2005.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Cheney
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Spokane 17 SSW, WA, 5 miles southeast of Cheney at 2,267 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 45°F; December is the coolest, at 35°F and 21°F. December is the wettest at 2.6 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 0.3 inches; the year adds up to 18.3 inches over 59 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 186 nights a year. That 18.3 inches is more than at 30 of the 86 Washington stations used on this site (35%). Medical Lake, 9 miles northwest, has its own station (Spokane WFO, WA): 17.3 inches a year, 1.0 less than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36 | 22 | 2.2 | 7 |
| Feb | 40 | 22 | 1.7 | 6 |
| Mar | 49 | 27 | 2.1 | 7 |
| Apr | 57 | 32 | 1.5 | 5 |
| May | 67 | 38 | 1.7 | 5 |
| Jun | 73 | 42 | 1.3 | 4 |
| Jul | 84 | 45 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Aug | 84 | 43 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Sep | 74 | 35 | 0.5 | 2 |
| Oct | 59 | 29 | 1.6 | 5 |
| Nov | 43 | 25 | 2.4 | 7 |
| Dec | 35 | 21 | 2.6 | 8 |
| Year | 58 | 32 | 18.3 | 59 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Spokane 17 SSW, WA (2,267 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 Cheney
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 7 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Cheney: 7 thunderstorm wind reports. They killed 0 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $4.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 89 mph, on June 21, 2005.
July 23, 2014: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Cheney — 4 injured, $4.0 million damage.
NWS: “A wet microburst brought sustained winds of 35 to 50 mph with gusts 60 to 70 mph across Spokane County. The winds descended near Cheney and peaked while passing through Airway Heights, Northwestern Spokane, and Deer Park.”
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 Cheney, 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 Cheney
- Medical Lake, WA9 mi
- Fairchild Afb, WA9 mi
- Airway Heights, WA12 mi
- Spokane, WA17 mi
- Spokane Valley, WA22 mi
- Nine Mile Falls, WA23 mi
- Liberty Lake, WA28 mi
- Otis Orchards, WA28 mi
- Colbert, WA28 mi
- Mead, WA30 mi
- Davenport, WA31 mi
- Newman Lake, WA32 mi
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