NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Spanaway, 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 Spanaway, Washington since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 12 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 12
- 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 Spanaway
The highest rating among the 12 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1 or EF1, reached 7 times; the most recent, on January 18, 2015, came within 19 miles. Of the 12, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 7 have come since 2000. June and September have had the most tornadoes, 3 each. Spanaway has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 75% of the 226 Washington cities on this site.
Compare Spanaway's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Spanaway
By decade
- 2010s3
- 2000s4
- 1990s2
- 1980s1
- 1970s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 18, 2015 | EF1 | 19 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 30, 2013 | EF1 | 2 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 6, 2009 | EF1 | 15 mi | 9.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 27, 2001 | F1 | 13 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1997 | F1 | 11 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 12, 1978 | F1 | 4 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 22, 1971 | F1 | 23 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 27, 2014 | EF0 | 16 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 28, 2006 | F0 | 17 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 15, 2003 | F0 | 14 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 23, 1996 | F0 | 16 mi | 0.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 24, 1981 | F0 | 8 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 12, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Spanaway
The Storm Prediction Center has no hail reports within 10 miles of Spanaway since 1955.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Spanaway
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Mcmillin Rsvr, WA, 8 miles northeast of Spanaway at 579 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 77°F and low of 53°F; December is the coolest, at 45°F and 33°F. November is the wettest at 7.1 inches of precipitation on average and July and August the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 45.2 inches over 110 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 3 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 60 nights a year. Snowfall averages 5.6 inches a year. That 45.2 inches is more than at 56 of the 86 Washington stations used on this site (65%). Mcchord Afb, 6 miles northwest, has its own station (Tacoma #1, WA): 40.8 inches a year, 4.4 less than here, and the same August average high, 77°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Tacoma, WA, 13 miles north, averaged 56°F in September and 48°F in March over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F. Sea level at the Seattle tide gauge, 36 miles from Spanaway, has risen 0.82 ± 0.03 inches per decade from 1899 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 8.2 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 42 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 46 | 33 | 6.1 | 14 | 1.5 | 49 |
| Feb | 48 | 33 | 4.3 | 10 | 0.5 | 48 |
| Mar | 52 | 36 | 4.8 | 13 | 0.6 | 48 |
| Apr | 57 | 39 | 3.9 | 11 | 0.0 | 49 |
| May | 64 | 45 | 3.0 | 8 | 0.0 | 51 |
| Jun | 69 | 49 | 2.3 | 6 | 0.0 | 53 |
| Jul | 76 | 52 | 0.9 | 3 | 0.0 | 55 |
| Aug | 77 | 53 | 0.9 | 2 | 0.0 | 56 |
| Sep | 70 | 48 | 1.8 | 4 | 0.0 | 56 |
| Oct | 59 | 42 | 4.1 | 9 | 0.0 | 55 |
| Nov | 50 | 36 | 7.1 | 14 | 1.5 | 53 |
| Dec | 45 | 33 | 6.0 | 14 | 1.5 | 51 |
| Year | 59 | 42 | 45.2 | 110 | 5.6 | 52 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Mcmillin Rsvr, WA (579 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Tacoma, WA, from NOAA Tides & Currents. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Pierce County, which includes Spanaway, has been named in 26 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 22 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 floods, 8 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 earthquakes). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on April 7, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Pierce County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for coastal flooding; Relatively Low for tornadoes and strong wind; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $531.9 million a year, the 2nd highest of 39 Washington counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $121.6 million (23%), 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.