NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit John Day, OR
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 John Day, Oregon since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 2 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 2
- 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 John Day
The highest rating among the 2 tornadoes within 25 miles is F0 or EF0, reached 2 times; the most recent, on November 5, 2023, came within 2 miles. Of the 149 Oregon cities on this site, 89% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than John Day. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 5 times since 1982, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). John Day has more hail reports within 10 miles than 71% of the 149 Oregon cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of John Day
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2000s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 5, 2023 | EF0 | 2 mi | 0.23 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 4, 2003 | F0 | 19 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 2 of 2, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in John Day
The Storm Prediction Center has 5 hail reports within 10 miles of John Day since 1982, made on 4 separate days. Of these, 2 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on July 2, 1998. The most recent report is from May 8, 2013.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in John Day
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is John Day, OR, 1 mile north of John Day at 3,063 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 48°F; December is the coolest, at 39°F and 21°F. May is the wettest at 1.8 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 12.1 inches over 43 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 38 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 162 nights a year. Snowfall averages 9.6 inches a year, most of it in January. That 12.1 inches is more than at 16 of the 77 Oregon stations used on this site (21%).
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40 | 21 | 1.1 | 4 | 3.5 |
| Feb | 45 | 23 | 0.6 | 3 | 1.4 |
| Mar | 52 | 26 | 1.1 | 4 | 1.2 |
| Apr | 57 | 30 | 1.5 | 5 | 0.3 |
| May | 66 | 37 | 1.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 75 | 43 | 1.3 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 48 | 0.4 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 86 | 46 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 39 | 0.5 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 31 | 1.0 | 4 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 48 | 26 | 1.2 | 4 | 1.0 |
| Dec | 39 | 21 | 1.1 | 4 | 2.0 |
| Year | 61 | 33 | 12.1 | 43 | 9.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at John Day, OR (3,063 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 John Day
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 21 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of John Day: 13 floods, 6 thunderstorm wind reports and 2 flash floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $2.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 76 mph, on August 10, 2000.
December 26, 2005: flood 5 miles from the centre of John Day — $1.6 million damage.
NWS: “Estimated total damage in Douglas County. 43 homes and businesses damaged.”
May 15, 2011: flood 2 miles from the centre of John Day — $688,000 damage.
NWS: “Low lying areas of Canyon City, John Day, Prairie City, and Mount Vernon were flooded along with other areas along the John Day River to the Picture Gorge area. The basement of the high school in Canyon City was flooded as were several businesses.”
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 John Day's ZIP code 97845 have filed 10 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $51,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 10% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 77 Oregon cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 0 have fewer than John Day.
Grant County, which includes John Day, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 fires, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 2 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Wildfires, on January 1, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Grant County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for lightning; Relatively Low for inland flooding; Very Low for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $7.5 million a year, the 31st highest of 36 Oregon counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.8 million (65%), 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 John Day
- Burns, OR56 mi
- Baker City, OR62 mi
- Hines, OR66 mi
- Heppner, OR71 mi
- La Grande, OR76 mi
- Union, OR78 mi
- Vale, OR84 mi
- Pendleton, OR87 mi
- Prineville, OR90 mi
- Elgin, OR95 mi
- Stanfield, OR96 mi
- Weiser, ID100 mi
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