NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Powell Butte, 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 Powell Butte, Oregon since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 5 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 5
- 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 Powell Butte
The strongest of the 5 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F1 on August 22, 1989; its path came within 13 miles. Of the 5, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 2 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on July 28, 2025. Of the 149 Oregon cities on this site, 68% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Powell Butte. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 19 times since 2000, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Powell Butte has more hail reports within 10 miles than 95% of the 149 Oregon cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Powell Butte
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s1
- 1990s1
- 1980s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 22, 1989 | F1 | 13 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 28, 2025 | EF0 | 17 mi | 0.05 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 13, 2017 | EF0 | 19 mi | 0.07 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 3, 1997 | F0 | 16 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 1983 | F0 | 17 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 5 of 5, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Powell Butte
The Storm Prediction Center has 19 hail reports within 10 miles of Powell Butte since 2000, made on 14 separate days. Of these, 7 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on June 12, 2006. The most recent report is from May 19, 2023. August has the most reports, 9.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Powell Butte
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Redmond Roberts Field, OR, 5 miles west of Powell Butte at 3,043 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 49°F; December is the coolest, at 42°F and 23°F. May is the wettest at 1.2 inches of precipitation on average and July and September the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 8.6 inches over 27 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 32 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 181 nights a year. That 8.6 inches is more than at 3 of the 77 Oregon stations used on this site (4%). Prineville, 14 miles east, has its own station (Prineville, OR): 10.5 inches a year, 1.9 more than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 25 | 1.0 | 3 |
| Feb | 48 | 25 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Mar | 55 | 28 | 0.6 | 2 |
| Apr | 60 | 31 | 0.7 | 3 |
| May | 69 | 38 | 1.2 | 3 |
| Jun | 77 | 43 | 0.6 | 2 |
| Jul | 88 | 49 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Aug | 87 | 47 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Sep | 79 | 41 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Oct | 65 | 33 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Nov | 51 | 28 | 0.8 | 3 |
| Dec | 42 | 23 | 1.0 | 3 |
| Year | 64 | 34 | 8.6 | 27 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Redmond Roberts Field, OR (3,043 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 Powell Butte
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 9 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Powell Butte: 4 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 flash floods and 2 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $228,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 60 mph, on August 9, 2019.
July 29, 1998: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Powell Butte — $200,000 damage.
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
Crook County, which includes Powell Butte, has been named in 12 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 fires, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 28, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Crook County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for lightning; Relatively Low for hail and inland flooding; Very Low for tornadoes, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $9.7 million a year, the 28th highest of 36 Oregon counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.5 million (46%), 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 Powell Butte
- Redmond, OR8 mi
- Terrebonne, OR13 mi
- Prineville, OR14 mi
- Bend, OR19 mi
- Culver, OR20 mi
- Sisters, OR26 mi
- Madras, OR29 mi
- Warm Springs, OR43 mi
- Mill City, OR80 mi
- Lyons, OR84 mi
- Sweet Home, OR84 mi
- Welches, OR89 mi
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