NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Pullman, 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 Pullman, Washington since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 8 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 8
- 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 Pullman
The strongest of the 8 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F2 on August 30, 1971; its path came within 15 miles. Of the 8, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and none has come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on May 31, 1997. Pullman has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 57% of the 226 Washington cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 10 times since 1964, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Pullman has more hail reports within 10 miles than 94% of the 226 Washington cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Pullman
By decade
- 1990s3
- 1980s2
- 1970s2
- 1960s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 30, 1971 | F2 | 15 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 19, 1986 | F1 | 21 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 2, 1973 | F1 | 9 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 1969 | F1 | 24 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1997 | F0 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 1, 1991 | F0 | 20 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 1, 1991 | F0 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 14, 1986 | F0 | 25 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 8 of 8, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Pullman
The Storm Prediction Center has 10 hail reports within 10 miles of Pullman since 1964, made on 9 separate days. Of these, 8 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently April 27, 2001. The most recent report is from June 15, 2021. July has the most reports, 4.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Pullman
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Pullman 2 NW, WA, 2 miles north of Pullman at 2,515 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 50°F; December is the coolest, at 37°F and 25°F. December is the wettest at 2.8 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 20.5 inches over 64 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 22 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 127 nights a year. Snowfall averages 32.7 inches a year, most of it in December. That 20.5 inches is more than at 36 of the 86 Washington stations used on this site (42%). Moscow, ID, 11 miles east, has its own station (Moscow U Of I, ID): 27.9 inches a year, 7.4 more than here, and an August average high of 86°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 26 | 2.7 | 8 | 9.6 |
| Feb | 42 | 27 | 1.9 | 6 | 4.8 |
| Mar | 50 | 31 | 2.1 | 7 | 2.5 |
| Apr | 57 | 35 | 2.0 | 6 | 0.7 |
| May | 66 | 42 | 1.8 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 73 | 46 | 1.2 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 50 | 0.4 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 50 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 44 | 0.7 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 36 | 1.8 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 46 | 31 | 2.6 | 8 | 4.6 |
| Dec | 37 | 25 | 2.8 | 9 | 10.3 |
| Year | 59 | 37 | 20.5 | 64 | 32.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Pullman 2 NW, WA (2,515 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 Pullman
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 38 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Pullman: 19 thunderstorm wind reports, 14 floods, 4 flash floods and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on November 16, 2010.
April 9, 2019: flash flood in Pullman — $1.1 million damage.
NWS: “Missouri Flat Creek experienced a Flash Flood which resulted in the North Grand Avenue business district being inundated with up to 4 feet of water in places. Numerous businesses were damaged and parked cars were floated and carried away.”
April 9, 2019: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Pullman — $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
Flood insurance policyholders in Pullman's ZIP code 99163 have filed 30 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $181,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1996: 14 claims (47% of all) and $89,000. 47% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 128 Washington cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 44 have fewer than Pullman.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1996 | 14 | $89,000 |
Whitman County, which includes Pullman, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 4 fires, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Wildfires, on February 15, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Whitman County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $14.4 million a year, the 30th highest of 39 Washington counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $10.1 million (70%), 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 Pullman
- Moscow, ID11 mi
- Colfax, WA14 mi
- Genesee, ID18 mi
- Troy, ID21 mi
- Clarkston, WA23 mi
- Lewiston, ID26 mi
- Pomeroy, WA27 mi
- Lapwai, ID30 mi
- Dayton, WA47 mi
- St Maries, ID47 mi
- Orofino, ID50 mi
- Cheney, WA54 mi
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