NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit La Center, 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 La Center, Washington since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 26 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 26
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
6 deaths in all
What the records show for La Center
The strongest of the 26 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on April 5, 1972; its path came within 19 miles, and it killed 6 people. Of the 26, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 18 have come since 2000. October has had the most tornadoes, 6. The most recent tornado was on October 28, 2024. La Center has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 98% of the 226 Washington cities on this site.
Compare La Center's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of La Center
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s8
- 2000s6
- 1990s2
- 1980s3
- 1970s2(1 EF3+)
- 1960s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 5, 1972 | F3 | 19 mi | 8.7 mi | 6 / 300 |
| Dec 10, 2015 | EF1 | 8 mi | 0.82 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 23, 2014 | EF1 | 23 mi | 1.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 10, 2008 | EF1 | 11 mi | 10.11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 29, 1989 | F1 | 2 mi | 1.6 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 28, 1985 | F1 | 25 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 13, 1984 | F1 | 3 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 16, 1978 | F1 | 14 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 28, 2024 | EF0 | 25 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 11, 2023 | EF0 | 3 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 27, 2021 | EF0 | 6 mi | 3.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 10, 2020 | EF0 | 10 mi | 1.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 26, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in La Center
The Storm Prediction Center has no hail reports within 10 miles of La Center since 1955.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in La Center
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Battle Ground, WA, 9 miles southeast of La Center at 284 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 50°F; December is the coolest, at 45°F and 32°F. December is the wettest at 8.0 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 0.6 inches; the year adds up to 52.3 inches over 117 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 11 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 70 nights a year. Snowfall averages 1.4 inches a year, most of it in January. That 52.3 inches is more than at 64 of the 86 Washington stations used on this site (74%). Woodland, 5 miles northwest, has its own station (Scappoose Ind Airport, OR): 42.4 inches a year, 9.9 less than here, and an August average high of 82°F against 80°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Longview, WA, 23 miles northwest, averaged 72°F in August and 42°F in February over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 46 | 32 | 7.2 | 15 | 0.5 | 43 |
| Feb | 50 | 32 | 5.3 | 13 | 0.3 | 42 |
| Mar | 55 | 35 | 5.6 | 14 | 0.2 | 45 |
| Apr | 60 | 38 | 4.5 | 12 | 0.0 | 50 |
| May | 67 | 43 | 3.4 | 9 | 0.0 | 56 |
| Jun | 71 | 47 | 2.3 | 6 | 0.0 | 62 |
| Jul | 79 | 51 | 0.6 | 2 | 0.0 | 70 |
| Aug | 80 | 50 | 0.8 | 2 | 0.0 | 72 |
| Sep | 75 | 46 | 2.2 | 5 | 0.0 | 68 |
| Oct | 63 | 40 | 4.8 | 10 | 0.0 | 62 |
| Nov | 52 | 35 | 7.6 | 15 | 0.0 | 52 |
| Dec | 45 | 32 | 8.0 | 15 | 0.4 | 46 |
| Year | 62 | 40 | 52.3 | 117 | 1.4 | 55 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Battle Ground, WA (284 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Longview, 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.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near La Center
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 15 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of La Center: 9 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 floods and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $11,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 93 mph, on June 6, 2026.
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
Clark County, which includes La Center, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 coastal storm). 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 Clark County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes; Very Low for hail and coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $157.5 million a year, the 7th highest of 39 Washington counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $68.3 million (43%), 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.