NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sultan, 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 Sultan, Washington since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 5 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 5
- 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 Sultan
The strongest of the 5 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F2 on November 24, 1970; its path came within 25 miles. Of the 5, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and one has come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on June 16, 2006. Of the 226 Washington cities on this site, 60% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Sultan.
Compare Sultan's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Sultan
By decade
- 2000s1
- 1990s1
- 1970s2
- 1960s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 24, 1970 | F2 | 25 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 26, 1971 | F1 | 9 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 2006 | F0 | 3 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 24, 1997 | F0 | 15 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 18, 1964 | F0 | 24 mi | 5.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 5 of 5, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Sultan
The Storm Prediction Center has no hail reports within 10 miles of Sultan since 1955.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sultan
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Startup 1 E, WA, 3 miles east of Sultan at 170 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 78°F and low of 51°F; December is the coolest, at 47°F and 34°F. November is the wettest at 9.8 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 1.5 inches; the year adds up to 68.3 inches over 138 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 5 days a year, almost all from July to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 53 nights a year. That 68.3 inches is more than at 72 of the 86 Washington stations used on this site (84%). Monroe, 7 miles west, has its own station (Monroe, WA): 50.8 inches a year, 17.5 less than here, and an August average high of 75°F against 78°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 47 | 34 | 8.9 | 16 |
| Feb | 51 | 34 | 5.9 | 13 |
| Mar | 55 | 36 | 6.8 | 15 |
| Apr | 60 | 39 | 5.9 | 14 |
| May | 67 | 44 | 5.0 | 11 |
| Jun | 71 | 49 | 3.8 | 10 |
| Jul | 78 | 52 | 1.5 | 4 |
| Aug | 78 | 51 | 1.7 | 4 |
| Sep | 73 | 47 | 3.5 | 8 |
| Oct | 62 | 42 | 7.1 | 13 |
| Nov | 52 | 37 | 9.8 | 16 |
| Dec | 47 | 34 | 8.4 | 16 |
| Year | 62 | 42 | 68.3 | 138 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Startup 1 E, WA (170 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.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Sultan's ZIP code 98294 have filed 317 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $5.5 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1990: 77 claims (24% of all) and $660,000, then Torrential rain in 2006 with 64 and 2025-12-AtmosphericRiver in 2025 with 23. The year with the most claims was 2006, with 68. 52% 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, 118 have fewer than Sultan.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1990 | 77 | $660,000 |
| Torrential rain2006 | 64 | $1.7 million |
| 2025-12-AtmosphericRiver2025 | 23 | $1.1 million |
Snohomish County, which includes Sultan, has been named in 37 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 32 of them major disasters (by incident: 15 severe storms, 13 floods, 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 Snohomish 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; Very Low for hail and strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $409.2 million a year, the 3rd highest of 39 Washington counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $111.9 million (27%), 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.