NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit La Grande, 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 La Grande, Oregon since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 1 tornado has touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 1
- 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 La Grande
The only tornado within 25 miles was an F0 on June 21, 1983; its path came within 3 miles. Of the 149 Oregon cities on this site, 92% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than La Grande. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 30 times since 1958, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). La Grande has more hail reports within 10 miles than 98% of the 149 Oregon cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of La Grande
By decade
- 1980s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 21, 1983 | F0 | 3 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 1 of 1, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in La Grande
The Storm Prediction Center has 30 hail reports within 10 miles of La Grande since 1958, made on 22 separate days. Of these, 23 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 4 days, most recently May 31, 2015. The most recent report is from August 5, 2024. July has the most reports, 11.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in La Grande
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is La Grande, OR, in La Grande at 2,755 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 55°F; December is the coolest, at 39°F and 24°F. May is the wettest at 2.2 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 0.6 inches; the year adds up to 17.4 inches over 51 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 31 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 136 nights a year. Snowfall averages 9.4 inches a year, most of it in January. That 17.4 inches is more than at 22 of the 77 Oregon stations used on this site (29%). Union, 15 miles southeast, has its own station (Union, OR): 14.9 inches a year, 2.5 less than here, and the same July average high, 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 39 | 25 | 1.7 | 6 | 3.3 |
| Feb | 44 | 27 | 1.2 | 4 | 1.0 |
| Mar | 52 | 31 | 1.7 | 5 | 0.8 |
| Apr | 59 | 35 | 1.8 | 5 | 0.1 |
| May | 68 | 43 | 2.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 75 | 49 | 1.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 55 | 0.6 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 87 | 53 | 0.7 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 45 | 0.7 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 36 | 1.6 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 48 | 30 | 1.9 | 6 | 1.2 |
| Dec | 39 | 24 | 1.9 | 6 | 3.0 |
| Year | 61 | 38 | 17.4 | 51 | 9.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at La Grande, OR (2,755 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 La Grande
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 17 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of La Grande: 10 thunderstorm wind reports, 6 floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $3.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on July 19, 2004.
July 19, 2004: thunderstorm wind in La Grande — 1 injured, $300,000 damage.
July 19, 2011: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of La Grande — 1 injured, $2,000 damage.
NWS: “A thunderstorm moved northeast through LaGrande toppling trees, snapping limbs, and downing power lines. Hail and heavy rainfall with the storm dropped visibility to near zero, causing minor street flooding and a bicycle-vehicle accident which injured bicycle rider.”
May 15, 2011: flood 4 miles from the centre of La Grande — $2.0 million damage.
NWS: “7 feet on the Grande Ronde River at Perry. Additional flooding occurred on Little Creek, Wolf Creek, Ladd Creek, and Catherine Creek.”
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
Union County, which includes La Grande, has been named in 10 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms, 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 Union County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes, hail and strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $12.4 million a year, the 24th highest of 36 Oregon counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.0 million (32%), 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 La Grande
- Union, OR15 mi
- Elgin, OR19 mi
- Baker City, OR39 mi
- Pendleton, OR41 mi
- Enterprise, OR42 mi
- Joseph, OR44 mi
- Milton Freewater, OR45 mi
- Walla Walla, WA46 mi
- College Place, WA52 mi
- Stanfield, OR63 mi
- Hermiston, OR68 mi
- Dayton, WA69 mi
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