NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Ontario, 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 Ontario, Oregon since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 12 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 12
- 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 Ontario
The highest rating among the 12 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1, reached 7 times; the most recent, on April 30, 1997, came within 9 miles. Of the 12, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 3 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 3. The most recent tornado was on August 25, 2004. Ontario has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 55% of the 149 Oregon cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 8 times since 1969, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Ontario has more hail reports within 10 miles than 83% of the 149 Oregon cities.
Compare Ontario's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Ontario
By decade
- 2000s3
- 1990s6
- 1980s1
- 1970s1
- 1960s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 30, 1997 | F1 | 9 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 17, 1996 | F1 | 19 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 17, 1996 | F1 | 13 mi | 5.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 9, 1990 | F1 | 19 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 1, 1983 | F1 | 8 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 1974 | F1 | 21 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 25, 1966 | F1 | 2 mi | 19.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 25, 2004 | F0 | 21 mi | — | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 29, 2002 | F0 | 23 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 13, 2001 | F0 | 13 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 17, 1997 | F0 | 7 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 30, 1997 | F0 | 21 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 12, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Ontario
The Storm Prediction Center has 8 hail reports within 10 miles of Ontario since 1969, made on 6 separate days. Of these, 6 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on July 29, 1995. The most recent report is from June 5, 2022.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Ontario
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ontario Ksrv, OR, 1 mile southeast of Ontario at 2,145 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 36°F and 23°F. December is the wettest at 1.6 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 0.1 inches; the year adds up to 10.1 inches over 34 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 62 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 150 nights a year. That 10.1 inches is more than at 6 of the 77 Oregon stations used on this site (8%). Payette, ID, 5 miles east, has its own station (Payette, ID): 11.3 inches a year, 1.2 more than here, and a July average high of 92°F against 93°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36 | 23 | 1.3 | 5 |
| Feb | 44 | 26 | 0.8 | 3 |
| Mar | 56 | 32 | 1.0 | 3 |
| Apr | 63 | 38 | 0.9 | 3 |
| May | 74 | 47 | 1.4 | 4 |
| Jun | 82 | 54 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Jul | 93 | 60 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Aug | 91 | 57 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Sep | 81 | 47 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Oct | 65 | 36 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Nov | 47 | 28 | 0.9 | 4 |
| Dec | 36 | 22 | 1.6 | 6 |
| Year | 64 | 39 | 10.1 | 34 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Ontario Ksrv, OR (2,145 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 Ontario
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 30 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Ontario: 17 thunderstorm wind reports, 6 floods, 5 heavy rain events and 2 flash floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $2.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on June 19, 2003.
June 5, 2010: flood 3 miles from the centre of Ontario — $1.0 million damage.
August 4, 2021: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Ontario — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “A wind gust associated with a strong thunderstorm brought several trees down near the Ontario airport. Multiple power outages were also reported.”
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 Ontario's ZIP code 97914 have filed 20 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1982, and were paid $79,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 5% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 77 Oregon cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 28 have fewer than Ontario.
Malheur County, which includes Ontario, has been named in 7 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 3 of them major disasters (by incident: 2 biological emergencies, 1 coastal storm, 1 drought, 1 fire). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 28, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Malheur County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes and strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $10.5 million a year, the 26th highest of 36 Oregon counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.6 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 Ontario
- Payette, ID5 mi
- Fruitland, ID6 mi
- Nyssa, OR10 mi
- New Plymouth, ID11 mi
- Vale, OR17 mi
- Weiser, ID18 mi
- Parma, ID19 mi
- Emmett, ID26 mi
- Wilder, ID28 mi
- Middleton, ID30 mi
- Caldwell, ID31 mi
- Homedale, ID32 mi
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