NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Salem, 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 Salem, Oregon since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 18 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 18
- 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 Salem
The highest rating among the 18 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2 or EF2, reached 2 times; the most recent, on December 14, 2010, came within 9 miles. Of the 18, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 7 have come since 2000. September and October have had the most tornadoes, 4 each. The most recent tornado was on October 24, 2022. Salem has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 69% of the 149 Oregon cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 2 times since 2003, with stones up to 1 inch (quarter size). Of the 149 Oregon cities, 45% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Salem.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Salem
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s3
- 2000s3
- 1990s9
- 1970s1
- 1960s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 14, 2010 | EF2 | 9 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Dec 8, 1993 | F2 | 24 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 2013 | EF1 | 22 mi | 0.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 2003 | F1 | 10 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 9, 2000 | F1 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 8, 1960 | F1 | 13 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 24, 2022 | EF0 | 17 mi | 0.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 29, 2018 | EF0 | 14 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 16, 2006 | F0 | 9 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 3, 1998 | F0 | 11 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 1997 | F0 | 7 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 1997 | F0 | 7 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 18, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Salem
The Storm Prediction Center has 2 hail reports within 10 miles of Salem since 2003. Of these, one was 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1 inch (quarter size), fell on April 29, 2003. The most recent report is from May 3, 2007.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Salem
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Salem Mcnary Field, OR, 2 miles south of Salem at 205 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 55°F; December is the coolest, at 47°F and 35°F. December is the wettest at 7.0 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 0.3 inches; the year adds up to 40.4 inches over 91 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 18 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 49 nights a year. That 40.4 inches is more than at 34 of the 77 Oregon stations used on this site (44%). Turner, 9 miles south, has its own station (Stayton, OR): 52.7 inches a year, 12.3 more than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 48 | 36 | 6.1 | 13 |
| Feb | 52 | 36 | 4.5 | 10 |
| Mar | 57 | 38 | 4.4 | 11 |
| Apr | 62 | 41 | 3.1 | 10 |
| May | 69 | 46 | 2.3 | 6 |
| Jun | 75 | 51 | 1.3 | 4 |
| Jul | 84 | 55 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Aug | 84 | 55 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Sep | 78 | 51 | 1.5 | 3 |
| Oct | 65 | 44 | 3.5 | 7 |
| Nov | 54 | 39 | 6.0 | 12 |
| Dec | 47 | 35 | 7.0 | 13 |
| Year | 64 | 44 | 40.4 | 91 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Salem Mcnary Field, OR (205 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 Salem
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 9 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Salem: 6 heavy rain events, 2 floods and 1 thunderstorm wind report. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 52 mph, on September 17, 2020.
January 20, 2012: flood 10 miles from the centre of Salem — $1.0 million 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 Salem's 6 ZIP codes have filed 255 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $3.9 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1996: 97 claims (38% of all) and $1.6 million. The year with the most claims was 2012, with 93. 38% 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, 72 have fewer than Salem.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1996 | 97 | $1.6 million |
Marion County, which includes Salem, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 fires, 4 floods, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on May 4, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Marion County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for hail; Very Low for tornadoes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $171.1 million a year, the 5th highest of 36 Oregon counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $37.5 million (22%), 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 Salem
- Keizer, OR4 mi
- Turner, OR9 mi
- Aumsville, OR10 mi
- Independence, OR10 mi
- Silverton, OR12 mi
- Sublimity, OR13 mi
- Gervais, OR13 mi
- Jefferson, OR13 mi
- Mount Angel, OR14 mi
- Stayton, OR15 mi
- Amity, OR16 mi
- Dallas, OR16 mi
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