NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Mead, 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 Mead, 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 Mead
The strongest of the 15 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F2 on May 6, 1957; its path came within 23 miles. Of the 15, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 6 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 6. The most recent tornado was on April 18, 2024. Mead has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 88% of the 226 Washington cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 10 times since 1997, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Mead has more hail reports within 10 miles than 94% of the 226 Washington cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Mead
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s2
- 2000s1
- 1990s4
- 1980s2
- 1970s1
- 1960s1
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, 1957 | F2 | 23 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1997 | F1 | 13 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 12, 1984 | F1 | 6 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 1981 | F1 | 14 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 29, 1970 | F1 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 18, 2024 | EF0 | 19 mi | 0.01 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 6, 2022 | EF0 | 11 mi | 2.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 6, 2022 | EF0 | 17 mi | 0.59 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 9, 2016 | EF0 | 22 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 22, 2016 | EF0 | 19 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 2004 | F0 | 24 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 27, 1999 | F0 | 11 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 Mead
The Storm Prediction Center has 10 hail reports within 10 miles of Mead since 1997, made on 7 separate days. Of these, 6 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on May 31, 1997. The most recent report is from August 24, 2022. June has the most reports, 5.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Mead
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Spokane Felts Field, WA, 10 miles southwest of Mead at 1,953 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 56°F; December is the coolest, at 37°F and 26°F. December is the wettest at 2.2 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 0.5 inches; the year adds up to 17.4 inches over 56 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 29 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 123 nights a year. That 17.4 inches is more than at 28 of the 86 Washington stations used on this site (33%). Colbert, 7 miles west, has its own station (Deer Park Airport, WA): 22.5 inches a year, 5.1 more than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 26 | 2.0 | 7 |
| Feb | 43 | 27 | 1.3 | 5 |
| Mar | 51 | 32 | 1.8 | 7 |
| Apr | 60 | 37 | 1.5 | 4 |
| May | 70 | 44 | 1.7 | 5 |
| Jun | 76 | 50 | 1.5 | 5 |
| Jul | 87 | 56 | 0.7 | 1 |
| Aug | 86 | 55 | 0.5 | 2 |
| Sep | 76 | 47 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Oct | 60 | 38 | 1.5 | 5 |
| Nov | 45 | 31 | 2.0 | 7 |
| Dec | 37 | 26 | 2.2 | 8 |
| Year | 61 | 39 | 17.4 | 56 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Spokane Felts Field, WA (1,953 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 Mead
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 27 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Mead: 17 thunderstorm wind reports, 6 floods, 3 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $1.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on May 31, 1997.
August 12, 2005: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Mead — 2 injured, $100,000 damage.
May 19, 2008: flood 6 miles from the centre of Mead — $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
Spokane County, which includes Mead, has been named in 33 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 17 fires, 6 floods, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Wildfires, on February 15, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Spokane County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $98.8 million a year, the 11th highest of 39 Washington counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $52.9 million (54%), 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 Mead
- Colbert, WA7 mi
- Newman Lake, WA8 mi
- Chattaroy, WA8 mi
- Otis Orchards, WA9 mi
- Spokane Valley, WA11 mi
- Liberty Lake, WA12 mi
- Spokane, WA12 mi
- Post Falls, ID14 mi
- Elk, WA16 mi
- Rathdrum, ID16 mi
- Deer Park, WA16 mi
- Nine Mile Falls, WA17 mi
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