NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Prineville, 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 Prineville, Oregon since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 1 tornado has touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 1
- 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 Prineville
The only tornado within 25 miles was an F1 on August 22, 1989; its path came within 24 miles. Of the 149 Oregon cities on this site, 92% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Prineville. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 29 times since 1997, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Prineville has more hail reports within 10 miles than 97% of the 149 Oregon cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Prineville
By decade
- 1980s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 22, 1989 | F1 | 24 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 1 of 1, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Prineville
The Storm Prediction Center has 29 hail reports within 10 miles of Prineville since 1997, made on 14 separate days. Of these, 17 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 August 9, 2019. July has the most reports, 10.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Prineville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Prineville, OR, 6 miles northwest of Prineville at 2,876 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 49°F; December is the coolest, at 42°F and 24°F. May is the wettest at 1.4 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 0.3 inches; the year adds up to 10.5 inches over 29 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 31 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 166 nights a year. Snowfall averages 8.8 inches a year, most of it in February. That 10.5 inches is more than at 9 of the 77 Oregon stations used on this site (12%). Powell Butte, 14 miles west, has its own station (Redmond Roberts Field, OR): 8.6 inches a year, 1.9 less than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43 | 25 | 1.1 | 3 | 1.8 |
| Feb | 48 | 26 | 0.8 | 3 | 3.2 |
| Mar | 55 | 29 | 0.9 | 3 | 0.9 |
| Apr | 60 | 33 | 0.8 | 3 | 0.3 |
| May | 69 | 40 | 1.4 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 76 | 45 | 0.9 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 87 | 49 | 0.4 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 86 | 48 | 0.4 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 42 | 0.3 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 65 | 34 | 1.0 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 51 | 29 | 1.2 | 4 | 1.1 |
| Dec | 42 | 24 | 1.3 | 3 | 1.5 |
| Year | 63 | 35 | 10.5 | 29 | 8.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Prineville, OR (2,876 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 Prineville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 8 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Prineville: 6 thunderstorm wind reports, 1 flash flood and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $18,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 64 mph, on May 30, 2020.
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 Prineville's ZIP code 97754 have filed 67 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1998, and were paid $451,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1998, with 61. Of the 77 Oregon cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 58 have fewer than Prineville.
Crook County, which includes Prineville, 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 Prineville
- Powell Butte, OR14 mi
- Redmond, OR22 mi
- Terrebonne, OR24 mi
- Culver, OR29 mi
- Bend, OR31 mi
- Madras, OR33 mi
- Sisters, OR40 mi
- Warm Springs, OR49 mi
- John Day, OR90 mi
- Mill City, OR92 mi
- Hines, OR94 mi
- Lyons, OR96 mi
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