NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Onalaska, 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 Onalaska, Washington since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 7 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 7
- 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 Onalaska
The strongest of the 7 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F2 on November 10, 1965; its path came within 14 miles. Of the 7, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 5 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on October 4, 2019. Onalaska has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 50% of the 226 Washington cities on this site.
Compare Onalaska's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Onalaska
By decade
- 2010s3
- 2000s2
- 1990s1
- 1960s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 10, 1965 | F2 | 14 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 2004 | F1 | 21 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 2011 | EF0 | 11 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 25, 2010 | EF0 | 9 mi | 0.01 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 15, 2003 | F0 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 6, 1994 | F0 | 21 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 4, 2019 | Unrated | 21 mi | 0.05 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 7 of 7, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Onalaska
The Storm Prediction Center has no hail reports within 10 miles of Onalaska since 1955.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Onalaska
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Mayfield Pwr Plt, WA, 7 miles southeast of Onalaska at 280 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 52°F; December is the coolest, at 44°F and 34°F. November is the wettest at 8.4 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 58.8 inches over 121 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 24 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 66 nights a year. Snowfall averages 3.4 inches a year, most of it in February. That 58.8 inches is more than at 67 of the 86 Washington stations used on this site (78%). Centralia, 17 miles northwest, has its own station (Centralia, WA): 41.4 inches a year, 17.4 less than here, and an August average high of 78°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 45 | 33 | 8.1 | 15 | 1.1 |
| Feb | 49 | 34 | 5.8 | 12 | 1.3 |
| Mar | 54 | 35 | 6.3 | 14 | 0.0 |
| Apr | 60 | 39 | 5.5 | 13 | 0.0 |
| May | 69 | 43 | 3.8 | 10 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 72 | 48 | 2.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 81 | 51 | 0.9 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 52 | 1.3 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 48 | 2.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 43 | 5.4 | 11 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 51 | 38 | 8.4 | 14 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 44 | 34 | 8.1 | 15 | 1.0 |
| Year | 62 | 41 | 58.8 | 121 | 3.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Mayfield Pwr Plt, WA (280 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.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Lewis County, which includes Onalaska, has been named in 37 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 34 of them major disasters (by incident: 19 floods, 13 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 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 Lewis County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding; Relatively Low for strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $70.9 million a year, the 16th highest of 39 Washington counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $36.8 million (52%), 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 Onalaska
- Mossyrock, WA10 mi
- Toledo, WA13 mi
- Winlock, WA15 mi
- Centralia, WA17 mi
- Morton, WA17 mi
- Chehalis, WA17 mi
- Rainier, WA19 mi
- Silverlake, WA20 mi
- Tenino, WA20 mi
- Yelm, WA21 mi
- Castle Rock, WA23 mi
- Rochester, WA26 mi
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