NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Spirit Lake, ID
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 Spirit Lake, Idaho since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 6 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 6
- 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 Spirit Lake
The highest rating among the 6 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 31, 1997, came within 12 miles. Of the 6, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and none has come since 2000. Of the 90 Idaho cities on this site, 62% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Spirit Lake. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 6 times since 1987, with stones up to 1 inch (quarter size). Of the 90 Idaho cities, 71% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Spirit Lake.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Spirit Lake
By decade
- 1990s3
- 1980s1
- 1970s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 1997 | F2 | 12 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 9, 1991 | F2 | 14 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 17, 1978 | F2 | 19 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 12, 1984 | F1 | 24 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 19, 1978 | F1 | 25 mi | 1.9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Sep 9, 1994 | F0 | 24 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 6 of 6, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Spirit Lake
The Storm Prediction Center has 6 hail reports within 10 miles of Spirit Lake since 1987, made on 5 separate days. Of these, 3 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1 inch (quarter size), was reported on 3 days, most recently July 10, 2023. The most recent report is from July 10, 2023.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Spirit Lake
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Bayview Model Basin, ID, 14 miles east of Spirit Lake at 2,087 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 50°F; December is the coolest, at 34°F and 22°F. December is the wettest at 3.6 inches of precipitation on average and July and August the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 24.7 inches over 73 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 9 days a year, almost all from July to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 172 nights a year. Snowfall averages 27.2 inches a year, most of it in December. That 24.7 inches is more than at 55 of the 66 Idaho stations used on this site (83%). Rathdrum, 11 miles south, has its own station (Coeur D'Alene, ID): 25.3 inches a year, 0.6 more than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 35 | 23 | 2.4 | 9 | 8.7 |
| Feb | 38 | 23 | 1.8 | 6 | 3.2 |
| Mar | 45 | 28 | 2.5 | 8 | 1.8 |
| Apr | 54 | 33 | 2.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| May | 64 | 39 | 2.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 71 | 45 | 1.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 80 | 50 | 0.9 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 49 | 0.9 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 69 | 42 | 1.0 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 54 | 33 | 2.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 42 | 27 | 3.1 | 9 | 1.4 |
| Dec | 34 | 22 | 3.6 | 9 | 12.1 |
| Year | 55 | 35 | 24.7 | 73 | 27.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Bayview Model Basin, ID (2,087 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 Spirit Lake
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 9 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Spirit Lake: 5 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 floods and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $234,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 61 mph, on June 4, 2012.
February 12, 2014: flood 8 miles from the centre of Spirit Lake — $160,000 damage.
NWS: “Heavy runoff led to several drive washouts for residents on hilly terrain across Kootenai County. A swollen Latour creek washed away a small levee and parcel of land that supported a shed at a private residence on South Latour Creek Road.”
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
Kootenai County, which includes Spirit Lake, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 4 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 fires). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on June 30, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Kootenai County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for strong wind and lightning; Very Low for tornadoes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $45.4 million a year, the 3rd highest of 44 Idaho counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $31.8 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 Spirit Lake
- Athol, ID10 mi
- Rathdrum, ID11 mi
- Hayden, ID15 mi
- Oldtown, ID15 mi
- Post Falls, ID18 mi
- Newman Lake, WA18 mi
- Elk, WA18 mi
- Newport, WA19 mi
- Coeur D Alene, ID20 mi
- Mead, WA20 mi
- Chattaroy, WA20 mi
- Sagle, ID21 mi
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