NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Colfax, 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 Colfax, Washington since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 3 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 3
- 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 Colfax
The strongest of the 3 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F2 on August 30, 1971; its path came within 4 miles. The most recent tornado was on September 14, 1986. Of the 226 Washington cities on this site, 73% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Colfax. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 3 times since 2004, with stones up to 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size). Colfax has more hail reports within 10 miles than 73% of the 226 Washington cities.
Compare Colfax's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Colfax
By decade
- 1980s1
- 1970s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 30, 1971 | F2 | 4 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 2, 1973 | F1 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 14, 1986 | F0 | 22 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 3 of 3, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Colfax
The Storm Prediction Center has 3 hail reports within 10 miles of Colfax since 2004. Of these, 2 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size), fell on August 4, 2004. The most recent report is from July 15, 2022.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Colfax
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Pullman 2 NW, WA, 13 miles southeast of Colfax at 2,515 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 50°F; December is the coolest, at 37°F and 25°F. December is the wettest at 2.8 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 20.5 inches over 64 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 22 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 127 nights a year. Snowfall averages 32.7 inches a year, most of it in December. That 20.5 inches is more than at 36 of the 86 Washington stations used on this site (42%). Moscow, ID, 24 miles southeast, has its own station (Moscow U Of I, ID): 27.9 inches a year, 7.4 more than here, and an August average high of 86°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 26 | 2.7 | 8 | 9.6 |
| Feb | 42 | 27 | 1.9 | 6 | 4.8 |
| Mar | 50 | 31 | 2.1 | 7 | 2.5 |
| Apr | 57 | 35 | 2.0 | 6 | 0.7 |
| May | 66 | 42 | 1.8 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 73 | 46 | 1.2 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 50 | 0.4 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 50 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 44 | 0.7 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 36 | 1.8 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 46 | 31 | 2.6 | 8 | 4.6 |
| Dec | 37 | 25 | 2.8 | 9 | 10.3 |
| Year | 59 | 37 | 20.5 | 64 | 32.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Pullman 2 NW, WA (2,515 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 Colfax
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 15 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Colfax: 6 floods, 6 thunderstorm wind reports, 2 flash floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $624,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on August 12, 2005.
August 12, 2005: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Colfax — 5 injured, $54,000 damage.
July 10, 1998: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Colfax — $540,000 damage.
NWS: “strong winds knocked trees down, crushing a convertible. only minor wheat 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
Whitman County, which includes Colfax, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 4 fires, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Wildfires, on February 15, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Whitman County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $14.4 million a year, the 30th highest of 39 Washington counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $10.1 million (70%), 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 Colfax
- Pullman, WA14 mi
- Moscow, ID24 mi
- Pomeroy, WA31 mi
- Genesee, ID32 mi
- Troy, ID33 mi
- Clarkston, WA36 mi
- Lewiston, ID39 mi
- Cheney, WA42 mi
- Lapwai, ID44 mi
- Dayton, WA47 mi
- St Maries, ID48 mi
- Medical Lake, WA51 mi
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