NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lewiston, ID
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 Lewiston, Idaho since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 6 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 6
- 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 Lewiston
The strongest of the 6 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F2 on May 8, 1962; its path came within 9 miles. Of the 6, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and none has come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on May 31, 1997. Of the 90 Idaho cities on this site, 62% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Lewiston. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 25 times since 1958, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Lewiston has more hail reports within 10 miles than 90% of the 90 Idaho cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Lewiston
By decade
- 1990s3
- 1970s1
- 1960s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 8, 1962 | F2 | 9 mi | 9.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 2, 1973 | F1 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 1969 | F1 | 12 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1997 | F0 | 2 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 1, 1991 | F0 | 11 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 1, 1991 | F0 | 12 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 6 of 6, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Lewiston
The Storm Prediction Center has 25 hail reports within 10 miles of Lewiston since 1958, made on 19 separate days. Of these, 16 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently July 27, 1970. The most recent report is from June 3, 2022. June has the most reports, 9.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Lewiston
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lewiston Nez Perce Co Airport, ID, 2 miles southwest of Lewiston at 1,436 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 61°F; December is the coolest, at 41°F and 30°F. May is the wettest at 1.7 inches of precipitation on average and July and August the driest at 0.5 inches; the year adds up to 12.8 inches over 41 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 44 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 80 nights a year. Snowfall averages 12.7 inches a year, most of it in December. That 12.8 inches is more than at 30 of the 66 Idaho stations used on this site (45%). Genesee, 12 miles north, has its own station (Moscow U Of I, ID): 27.9 inches a year, 15.1 more than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 91°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42 | 30 | 1.1 | 4 | 2.7 |
| Feb | 47 | 32 | 1.0 | 3 | 3.8 |
| Mar | 55 | 36 | 1.3 | 4 | 0.8 |
| Apr | 62 | 41 | 1.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| May | 72 | 48 | 1.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 54 | 1.3 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 91 | 61 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 90 | 60 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 80 | 52 | 0.6 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 42 | 1.1 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 49 | 35 | 1.2 | 4 | 1.3 |
| Dec | 41 | 30 | 1.1 | 4 | 4.1 |
| Year | 64 | 43 | 12.8 | 41 | 12.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lewiston Nez Perce Co Airport, ID (1,436 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 Lewiston
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 63 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lewiston: 36 thunderstorm wind reports, 12 floods, 10 flash floods, 3 lightning strikes and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $7.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on May 31, 1997. June has had the most flash floods, 8 of 10. Of the 62 Idaho cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 58 have had fewer than Lewiston.
July 9, 1998: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Lewiston — 1 injured, $25,000 damage.
May 8, 2005: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Lewiston — $4.0 million damage.
June 12, 2022: flood 10 miles from the centre of Lewiston — $1.0 million damage.
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
Nez Perce County, which includes Lewiston, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 fires, 3 floods, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on June 30, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Nez Perce County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $15.1 million a year, the 19th highest of 44 Idaho counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $11.9 million (79%), 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 Lewiston
- Clarkston, WA5 mi
- Lapwai, ID9 mi
- Genesee, ID12 mi
- Moscow, ID24 mi
- Pullman, WA26 mi
- Troy, ID27 mi
- Pomeroy, WA28 mi
- Cottonwood, ID37 mi
- Orofino, ID38 mi
- Colfax, WA39 mi
- Kamiah, ID47 mi
- Dayton, WA47 mi
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