NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit College Place, 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 College Place, Washington since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 8 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 8
- 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 College Place
The highest rating among the 8 tornadoes within 25 miles is EF1, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 6, 2022, came within 18 miles. Of the 8, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 4 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on March 5, 2024. College Place has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 57% of the 226 Washington cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 10 times since 1975, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). College Place has more hail reports within 10 miles than 94% of the 226 Washington cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of College Place
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2000s1
- 1990s1
- 1980s1
- 1960s1
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, 2022 | EF1 | 18 mi | 2.87 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 6, 2009 | EF1 | 23 mi | 1.61 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 5, 2024 | EF0 | 12 mi | 0.15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 27, 2023 | EF0 | 7 mi | 0.11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 1, 1991 | F0 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 24, 1987 | F0 | 4 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 22, 1964 | F0 | 7 mi | 10.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 24, 1958 | F0 | 15 mi | 45 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 8 of 8, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in College Place
The Storm Prediction Center has 10 hail reports within 10 miles of College Place since 1975, made on 8 separate days. Of these, 3 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently August 6, 1991. The most recent report is from April 4, 2012. June and August have the most reports, 3 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in College Place
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Whitman Mission, WA, 4 miles west of College Place at 632 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 54°F; December is the coolest, at 41°F and 27°F. May is the wettest at 1.8 inches of precipitation on average and July and August the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 15.4 inches. Highs reach 90°F on about 44 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 125 nights a year. That 15.4 inches is more than at 26 of the 86 Washington stations used on this site (30%). Milton Freewater, OR, 7 miles south, has its own station (Milton Freewater, OR): 16.2 inches a year, 0.8 more than here, and the same July average high, 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42 | 27 | 1.7 |
| Feb | 48 | 28 | 1.4 |
| Mar | 57 | 32 | 1.7 |
| Apr | 65 | 37 | 1.5 |
| May | 73 | 44 | 1.8 |
| Jun | 80 | 49 | 1.1 |
| Jul | 90 | 54 | 0.4 |
| Aug | 90 | 52 | 0.4 |
| Sep | 80 | 44 | 0.7 |
| Oct | 66 | 36 | 1.3 |
| Nov | 50 | 31 | 1.7 |
| Dec | 41 | 27 | 1.7 |
| Year | 65 | 38 | 15.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Whitman Mission, WA (632 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 College Place
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 32 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of College Place: 22 thunderstorm wind reports, 7 floods, 1 flash flood, 1 heavy rain event and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $43.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on August 10, 2022.
February 6, 2020: flood 8 miles from the centre of College Place — 1 killed, $39.7 million damage.
June 1, 2010: heavy rain event 8 miles from the centre of College Place — $3.5 million damage.
April 9, 2019: flood 9 miles from the centre of College Place — $152,000 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
Walla Walla County, which includes College Place, has been named in 13 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 fires, 2 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on April 23, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Walla Walla County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for heat waves; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for tornadoes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $20.3 million a year, the 26th highest of 39 Washington counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $10.1 million (50%), 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 College Place
- Milton Freewater, OR7 mi
- Walla Walla, WA15 mi
- Burbank, WA26 mi
- Dayton, WA27 mi
- Pendleton, OR33 mi
- Pasco, WA37 mi
- Kennewick, WA38 mi
- Elgin, OR41 mi
- Stanfield, OR44 mi
- Hermiston, OR45 mi
- Umatilla, OR46 mi
- Richland, WA47 mi
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