NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Ephrata, 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 Ephrata, 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 Ephrata
The highest rating among the 3 tornadoes within 25 miles is F0 or EF0, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 26, 2023, came within 11 miles. Of the 226 Washington cities on this site, 73% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Ephrata. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 2 times since 1985, with stones up to 0.75 inches (penny size). Ephrata has more hail reports within 10 miles than 60% of the 226 Washington cities.
Compare Ephrata's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Ephrata
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s1
- 1970s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 26, 2023 | EF0 | 11 mi | 0.37 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 19, 2010 | EF0 | 21 mi | 0.23 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 1, 1979 | F0 | 14 mi | 0.1 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 Ephrata
The Storm Prediction Center has 2 hail reports within 10 miles of Ephrata, all from September 17, 1985. None of them reached 1 inch. The largest was 0.75 inches (penny size).
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Ephrata
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ephrata Municipal Airport, WA, 3 miles east of Ephrata at 1,252 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 61°F; January and December are the coolest, at 36°F and 24°F. December is the wettest at 1.1 inches of precipitation on average and August and September the driest at 0.2 inches; the year adds up to 7.7 inches over 25 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 40 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 121 nights a year. That 7.7 inches is more than at 5 of the 86 Washington stations used on this site (6%). Quincy, 16 miles southwest, has its own station (Quincy, WA): 7.5 inches a year, 0.2 less than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 89°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36 | 24 | 0.9 | 3 |
| Feb | 43 | 27 | 0.6 | 2 |
| Mar | 54 | 32 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Apr | 63 | 39 | 0.6 | 2 |
| May | 73 | 48 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Jun | 80 | 54 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Jul | 89 | 61 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Aug | 88 | 59 | 0.2 | 1 |
| Sep | 79 | 51 | 0.2 | 1 |
| Oct | 62 | 39 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Nov | 46 | 30 | 0.9 | 3 |
| Dec | 36 | 24 | 1.1 | 4 |
| Year | 62 | 41 | 7.7 | 25 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Ephrata Municipal Airport, WA (1,252 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 Ephrata
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 9 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Ephrata: 3 floods, 3 thunderstorm wind reports, 2 flash floods and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $151,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 69 mph, on October 17, 2004.
May 17, 2018: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Ephrata — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Flooding from heavy rain producing thunderstorms occurred in Ephrata during the late evening of May 17th. Basin Street, the main road through the downtown business district was flooded with 4 to 8 inches of water with first floor damage to multiple businesses in the downtown area.”
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
Flood insurance policyholders in Ephrata's ZIP code 98823 have filed 16 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $9,100 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 128 Washington cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 17 have fewer than Ephrata.
Grant County, which includes Ephrata, has been named in 12 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 5 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 fires, 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms, 1 coastal storm). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 22, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Grant County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for hail, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for tornadoes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $29.0 million a year, the 23rd highest of 39 Washington counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $13.8 million (47%), 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 Ephrata
- Soap Lake, WA9 mi
- Quincy, WA16 mi
- Moses Lake, WA18 mi
- Royal City, WA26 mi
- Warden, WA33 mi
- East Wenatchee, WA34 mi
- Othello, WA37 mi
- Wenatchee, WA37 mi
- Orondo, WA39 mi
- Mattawa, WA42 mi
- Cashmere, WA46 mi
- Chelan, WA47 mi
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