NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Moscow, 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 Moscow, Idaho since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 9 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 9
- 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 Moscow
The highest rating among the 9 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 2 times; the most recent, on August 30, 1971, came within 23 miles. Of the 9, 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, 51% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Moscow. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 8 times since 1964, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 90 Idaho cities, 57% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Moscow.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Moscow
By decade
- 1990s3
- 1980s2
- 1970s2
- 1960s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 30, 1971 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 1962 | F2 | 25 mi | 9.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 19, 1986 | F1 | 9 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 2, 1973 | F1 | 3 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 1969 | F1 | 18 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1997 | F0 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 1, 1991 | F0 | 15 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 1, 1991 | F0 | 13 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 14, 1986 | F0 | 24 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 9 of 9, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Moscow
The Storm Prediction Center has 8 hail reports within 10 miles of Moscow since 1964. Of these, 7 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on August 2, 1976. The most recent report is from June 5, 2022.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Moscow
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Moscow U Of I, ID, 1 mile southwest of Moscow at 2,660 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 45°F; December is the coolest, at 36°F and 22°F. November and December are the wettest at 3.5 inches of precipitation on average and July and August the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 27.9 inches over 75 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 23 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 139 nights a year. Snowfall averages 50.9 inches a year, most of it in December. That 27.9 inches is more than at 59 of the 66 Idaho stations used on this site (89%). Pullman, WA, 11 miles west, has its own station (Pullman 2 NW, WA): 20.5 inches a year, 7.4 less than here, and an August average high of 85°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37 | 22 | 3.3 | 9 | 14.5 |
| Feb | 42 | 24 | 2.6 | 7 | 8.6 |
| Mar | 50 | 28 | 3.1 | 9 | 4.9 |
| Apr | 58 | 32 | 2.8 | 7 | 1.0 |
| May | 67 | 38 | 2.6 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Jun | 73 | 42 | 1.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 45 | 0.7 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 86 | 45 | 0.7 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 40 | 1.0 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 33 | 2.4 | 6 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 45 | 27 | 3.5 | 10 | 6.0 |
| Dec | 36 | 22 | 3.5 | 10 | 15.5 |
| Year | 60 | 33 | 27.9 | 75 | 50.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Moscow U Of I, ID (2,660 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 Moscow
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 31 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Moscow: 14 floods, 10 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 flash floods and 2 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $658,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on November 16, 2010. May has had the most flash floods, 4 of 5. Of the 62 Idaho cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 49 have had fewer than Moscow.
April 9, 2019: flash flood 3 miles from the centre of Moscow — $200,000 damage.
NWS: “Heavy rain during the afternoon and evening of April 9th caused Paradise Creek running through Moscow to rapidly rise and inundate lower elevation portions of the city along the creek.”
November 16, 2010: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Moscow — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Thousands of people went without power near the Viola area on the Idaho Palouse as 11 transmission structures went down in a domino effect on Highway 95 between Moscow and Potlach. The highway was shut down for a four mile stretch.”
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
Flood insurance policyholders in Moscow's ZIP code 83843 have filed 54 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $596,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1996: 15 claims (28% of all) and $67,000. The year with the most claims was 2019, with 20. 28% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 19 Idaho cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 16 have fewer than Moscow.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1996 | 15 | $67,000 |
Latah County, which includes Moscow, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 3 fires, 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 Latah County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes, hail and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $13.3 million a year, the 20th highest of 44 Idaho counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $8.4 million (63%), 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 Moscow
- Troy, ID9 mi
- Pullman, WA11 mi
- Genesee, ID13 mi
- Colfax, WA24 mi
- Lewiston, ID24 mi
- Clarkston, WA24 mi
- Lapwai, ID25 mi
- Pomeroy, WA36 mi
- Orofino, ID39 mi
- St Maries, ID41 mi
- Cottonwood, ID55 mi
- Kamiah, ID56 mi
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