NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Pasco, 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 Pasco, Washington since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 6 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 6
- 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 Pasco
The strongest of the 6 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F2 on June 26, 1958; its path came within 16 miles. Of the 6, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 2 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on March 31, 2020. Of the 226 Washington cities on this site, 49% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Pasco. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 6 times since 2002, with stones up to 1 inch (quarter size). Pasco has more hail reports within 10 miles than 88% of the 226 Washington cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Pasco
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s1
- 1980s1
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 26, 1958 | F2 | 16 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 1983 | F1 | 19 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2020 | EF0 | 10 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 22, 2016 | EF0 | 6 mi | 0.15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 24, 1958 | F0 | 24 mi | 45 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 9, 1956 | F0 | 6 mi | 10.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 6 of 6, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Pasco
The Storm Prediction Center has 6 hail reports within 10 miles of Pasco since 2002, made on 4 separate days. Of these, 2 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 July 20, 2012. The most recent report is from May 22, 2016.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Pasco
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Pasco Tri Cities Airport, WA, 1 mile west of Pasco at 407 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 57°F; December is the coolest, at 41°F and 27°F. January and December are the wettest at 1.0 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 0.2 inches; the year adds up to 7.7 inches over 25 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 55 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 112 nights a year. That 7.7 inches is more than at 4 of the 86 Washington stations used on this site (5%). Kennewick, 6 miles southwest, has its own station (Kennewick, WA): 8.0 inches a year, 0.3 more than here, and a July average high of 91°F against 93°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41 | 28 | 1.0 | 4 |
| Feb | 49 | 28 | 0.6 | 2 |
| Mar | 59 | 33 | 0.7 | 3 |
| Apr | 67 | 38 | 0.7 | 2 |
| May | 77 | 46 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Jun | 83 | 53 | 0.6 | 2 |
| Jul | 93 | 57 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Aug | 91 | 56 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Sep | 81 | 48 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Oct | 66 | 38 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Nov | 50 | 32 | 0.9 | 2 |
| Dec | 41 | 27 | 1.0 | 4 |
| Year | 66 | 40 | 7.7 | 25 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Pasco Tri Cities Airport, WA (407 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 Pasco
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 39 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Pasco: 36 thunderstorm wind reports, 2 lightning strikes and 1 flash flood. They killed 0 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $2.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on May 19, 2006.
May 30, 2020: lightning strike 3 miles from the centre of Pasco — 4 injured, $12,000 damage.
NWS: “Cattle company near Pasco lost 6 registered Charolais cattle during a lightning storm.”
May 19, 2006: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Pasco — $1.0 million damage.
July 7, 2002: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Pasco — $770,000 damage.
NWS: “Strong wind gusts from a thunderstorm flipped two small airplanes at the Tri-Cities airport in Pasco. Five feeding bunks at DeVries Dairy were also destroyed.”
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
Franklin County, which includes Pasco, has been named in 11 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms, 1 coastal storm). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms, Snowstorms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, on March 29, 2022. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Franklin County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for hail, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for tornadoes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $32.5 million a year, the 22nd highest of 39 Washington counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $24.1 million (74%), 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 Pasco
- Kennewick, WA6 mi
- Richland, WA10 mi
- Burbank, WA12 mi
- West Richland, WA13 mi
- Benton City, WA18 mi
- Mesa, WA22 mi
- Umatilla, OR27 mi
- Connell, WA30 mi
- Hermiston, OR31 mi
- Prosser, WA31 mi
- Irrigon, OR33 mi
- Stanfield, OR34 mi
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