NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Elk, 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 Elk, Washington since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 7 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 7
- 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 Elk
The highest rating among the 7 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 9, 1991, came within 19 miles. Of the 7, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and none has come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on April 27, 1999. Elk has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 50% of the 226 Washington cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 3 times since 2005, with stones up to 1 inch (quarter size). Elk has more hail reports within 10 miles than 73% of the 226 Washington cities.
Compare Elk's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Elk
By decade
- 1990s4
- 1980s2
- 1970s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 9, 1991 | F2 | 19 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 17, 1978 | F2 | 11 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1997 | F1 | 14 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 12, 1984 | F1 | 22 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 1981 | F1 | 11 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 27, 1999 | F0 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 6, 1994 | F0 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 7 of 7, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Elk
The Storm Prediction Center has 3 hail reports within 10 miles of Elk since 2005. All were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1 inch (quarter size), was reported on 3 days, most recently July 10, 2023. The most recent report is from July 10, 2023.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Elk
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Deer Park Airport, WA, 10 miles southwest of Elk at 2,191 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 48°F; December is the coolest, at 33°F and 21°F. December is the wettest at 3.1 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 0.6 inches; the year adds up to 22.5 inches over 64 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 21 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 174 nights a year. That 22.5 inches is more than at 38 of the 86 Washington stations used on this site (44%). Oldtown, ID, 14 miles northeast, has its own station (Priest Rvr Exp Stn, ID): 32.7 inches a year, 10.2 more than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 21 | 2.9 | 8 |
| Feb | 39 | 22 | 1.6 | 6 |
| Mar | 49 | 27 | 2.3 | 7 |
| Apr | 58 | 32 | 1.9 | 6 |
| May | 67 | 39 | 1.9 | 5 |
| Jun | 73 | 44 | 1.9 | 5 |
| Jul | 84 | 48 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Aug | 84 | 47 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Sep | 74 | 40 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Oct | 58 | 32 | 2.0 | 5 |
| Nov | 42 | 26 | 2.8 | 9 |
| Dec | 33 | 21 | 3.1 | 9 |
| Year | 58 | 33 | 22.5 | 64 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Deer Park Airport, WA (2,191 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 Elk
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 31 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Elk: 22 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 floods, 2 flash floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 2 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $2.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 70 mph, on May 24, 2003.
August 25, 2013: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Elk — 1 killed, 1 injured, $50,000 damage.
NWS: “Numerous trees and power lines were downed throughout the county resulting in power outages and some damage to structures. Power outages were reported in Diamond Lake and Tiger but it was assumed many more power outages occurred in other communities.”
August 18, 2008: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Elk — 1 killed.
July 23, 2014: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Elk — 2 injured, $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “A severe thunderstorm producing winds of 55 to 70 mph knocked down numerous trees across Pend Oreille County. The storms also brought periods of very heavy rainfall and small hail.”
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 Elk, 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.