NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Joint Base Lewis Mcchord, 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 Joint Base Lewis Mcchord, Washington since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 15 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 15
- 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 Joint Base Lewis Mcchord
The highest rating among the 15 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1 or EF1, reached 9 times; the most recent, on October 18, 2019, came within 21 miles. Of the 15, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 10 have come since 2000. Joint Base Lewis Mcchord has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 88% of the 226 Washington cities on this site.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Joint Base Lewis Mcchord
By decade
- 2010s5
- 2000s5
- 1990s2
- 1980s1
- 1970s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 18, 2019 | EF1 | 21 mi | 0.68 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 18, 2015 | EF1 | 17 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 30, 2013 | EF1 | 10 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 6, 2009 | EF1 | 22 mi | 9.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 2004 | F1 | 24 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 27, 2001 | F1 | 20 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1997 | F1 | 12 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 12, 1978 | F1 | 10 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 22, 1971 | F1 | 25 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 27, 2014 | EF0 | 21 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 28, 2006 | F0 | 10 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 15, 2003 | F0 | 10 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 15, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Joint Base Lewis Mcchord
The Storm Prediction Center has no hail reports within 10 miles of Joint Base Lewis Mcchord since 1955.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Joint Base Lewis Mcchord
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Tacoma Narrows Airport, WA, 13 miles north of Joint Base Lewis Mcchord at 292 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 76°F and low of 54°F; December is the coolest, at 46°F and 36°F. November is the wettest at 7.2 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 42.1 inches over 92 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 2 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 21 nights a year. That 42.1 inches is more than at 53 of the 86 Washington stations used on this site (62%). Mcchord Afb, 4 miles northeast, has its own station (Tacoma #1, WA): 40.8 inches a year, 1.3 less than here, and an August average high of 77°F against 76°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Tacoma, WA, 15 miles northeast, averaged 56°F in September and 48°F in March over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F. Sea level at the Seattle tide gauge, 38 miles from Joint Base Lewis Mcchord, has risen 0.82 ± 0.03 inches per decade from 1899 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 8.2 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 42 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 46 | 36 | 6.1 | 13 | 49 |
| Feb | 48 | 37 | 4.1 | 10 | 48 |
| Mar | 53 | 39 | 4.6 | 12 | 48 |
| Apr | 58 | 41 | 3.4 | 9 | 49 |
| May | 65 | 47 | 2.1 | 6 | 51 |
| Jun | 70 | 51 | 1.4 | 4 | 53 |
| Jul | 76 | 54 | 0.7 | 2 | 55 |
| Aug | 76 | 54 | 0.9 | 2 | 56 |
| Sep | 70 | 51 | 1.5 | 4 | 56 |
| Oct | 59 | 46 | 4.3 | 8 | 55 |
| Nov | 51 | 40 | 7.2 | 11 | 53 |
| Dec | 46 | 36 | 5.8 | 12 | 51 |
| Year | 60 | 44 | 42.1 | 92 | 52 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Tacoma Narrows Airport, WA (292 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Tacoma, WA, from NOAA Tides & Currents. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Pierce County, which includes Joint Base Lewis Mcchord, has been named in 26 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 22 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 floods, 8 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 earthquakes). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on April 7, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Pierce County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for coastal flooding; Relatively Low for tornadoes and strong wind; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $531.9 million a year, the 2nd highest of 39 Washington counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $121.6 million (23%), 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 Joint Base Lewis Mcchord
- Dupont, WA3 mi
- Mcchord Afb, WA4 mi
- Steilacoom, WA6 mi
- Lakewood, WA6 mi
- Spanaway, WA8 mi
- Roy, WA10 mi
- University Place, WA10 mi
- Lacey, WA10 mi
- Tacoma, WA11 mi
- Fox Island, WA11 mi
- Yelm, WA13 mi
- Olympia, WA14 mi
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