NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit North Plains, 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 North Plains, Oregon since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 23 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 23
- 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 North Plains
The strongest of the 23 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on April 5, 1972; its path came within 19 miles, and it killed 6 people. Of the 23, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 15 have come since 2000. October has had the most tornadoes, 5. The most recent tornado was on October 11, 2023. North Plains has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 82% of the 149 Oregon cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 3 times since 1991, with stones up to 1 inch (quarter size). North Plains has more hail reports within 10 miles than 55% of the 149 Oregon cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of North Plains
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s7
- 2000s5
- 1990s3
- 1980s2
- 1970s2(1 EF3+)
- 1960s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 5, 1972 | F3 | 19 mi | 8.7 mi | 6 / 300 |
| Dec 8, 1993 | F2 | 18 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 10, 2015 | EF1 | 24 mi | 0.82 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 10, 2008 | EF1 | 16 mi | 10.11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 12, 1991 | F1 | 23 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 29, 1989 | F1 | 23 mi | 1.6 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Oct 13, 1984 | F1 | 22 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 16, 1978 | F1 | 11 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 11, 2023 | EF0 | 22 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 27, 2021 | EF0 | 22 mi | 3.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 10, 2020 | EF0 | 16 mi | 1.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 8, 2019 | EF0 | 8 mi | 0.11 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 23, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in North Plains
The Storm Prediction Center has 3 hail reports within 10 miles of North Plains since 1991, made on 2 separate days. All were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1 inch (quarter size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 25, 1998. The most recent report is from May 25, 1998.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in North Plains
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Portland-Hillsboro Airport, OR, 9 miles southeast of North Plains at 204 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 52°F; December is the coolest, at 46°F and 33°F. December is the wettest at 6.1 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 36.1 inches over 88 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 17 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 64 nights a year. That 36.1 inches is more than at 28 of the 77 Oregon stations used on this site (36%). Banks, 5 miles west, has its own station (Forest Grove, OR): 46.6 inches a year, 10.5 more than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 82°F.
Sea level at the Garibaldi tide gauge, 44 miles from North Plains, has risen 0.96 ± 0.12 inches per decade from 1970 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 9.6 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 56 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 47 | 34 | 5.3 | 12 |
| Feb | 51 | 34 | 4.0 | 10 |
| Mar | 56 | 37 | 3.7 | 11 |
| Apr | 61 | 39 | 2.6 | 8 |
| May | 69 | 45 | 2.0 | 6 |
| Jun | 74 | 49 | 1.3 | 4 |
| Jul | 82 | 52 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Aug | 82 | 52 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Sep | 76 | 48 | 1.4 | 3 |
| Oct | 64 | 41 | 3.4 | 8 |
| Nov | 53 | 37 | 5.4 | 11 |
| Dec | 46 | 33 | 6.1 | 13 |
| Year | 63 | 42 | 36.1 | 88 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Portland-Hillsboro Airport, OR (204 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 North Plains
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 5 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of North Plains: 3 heavy rain events and 2 floods.
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
Washington County, which includes North Plains, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 fires, 4 floods, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Wildfires and Straight-Line Winds, on September 15, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Washington County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $270.3 million a year, the 2nd highest of 36 Oregon counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $80.6 million (30%), 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 North Plains
- Banks, OR5 mi
- Forest Grove, OR10 mi
- Scappoose, OR10 mi
- Cornelius, OR10 mi
- Hillsboro, OR10 mi
- Warren, OR14 mi
- Beaverton, OR15 mi
- Saint Helens, OR17 mi
- Vernonia, OR17 mi
- Gaston, OR17 mi
- Aloha, OR18 mi
- Ridgefield, WA18 mi
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