NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sunnyside, 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 Sunnyside, 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 Sunnyside
The highest rating among the 5 tornadoes within 25 miles is F0 or EF0, reached 5 times; the most recent, on August 13, 2014, came within 9 miles. Of the 5, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 5 have come since 2000. Of the 226 Washington cities on this site, 60% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Sunnyside. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 5 times since 2001, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Sunnyside has more hail reports within 10 miles than 83% of the 226 Washington cities.
Compare Sunnyside's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Sunnyside
By decade
- 2010s1
- 2000s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 13, 2014 | EF0 | 9 mi | 0.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 2005 | F0 | 16 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 2005 | F0 | 15 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 2004 | F0 | 24 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 15, 2000 | F0 | 15 mi | 0.2 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 Sunnyside
The Storm Prediction Center has 5 hail reports within 10 miles of Sunnyside since 2001, made on 2 separate days. Of these, 3 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on July 20, 2012, the most recent report.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sunnyside
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Sunnyside, WA, 2 miles southwest of Sunnyside at 747 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 54°F; December is the coolest, at 37°F and 22°F. December is the wettest at 1.2 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 0.1 inches; the year adds up to 7.8 inches over 24 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 45 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 124 nights a year. That 7.8 inches is more than at 7 of the 86 Washington stations used on this site (8%). Zillah, 14 miles west, has its own station (Wapato, WA): 7.7 inches a year, the same as here, and a July average high of 90°F against 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 23 | 1.0 | 3 |
| Feb | 45 | 24 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Mar | 55 | 30 | 0.5 | 2 |
| Apr | 63 | 36 | 0.6 | 2 |
| May | 73 | 44 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Jun | 79 | 49 | 0.6 | 2 |
| Jul | 88 | 54 | 0.1 | 1 |
| Aug | 87 | 52 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Sep | 78 | 45 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Oct | 64 | 35 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Nov | 48 | 27 | 0.9 | 3 |
| Dec | 37 | 22 | 1.2 | 3 |
| Year | 63 | 37 | 7.8 | 24 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Sunnyside, WA (747 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 Sunnyside
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 8 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sunnyside: 4 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 flash floods and 1 flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $17,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 60 mph, on June 29, 2013.
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
Yakima County, which includes Sunnyside, has been named in 39 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 20 fires, 10 floods, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). 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 Yakima County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $119.8 million a year, the 8th highest of 39 Washington counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $43.5 million (36%), 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 Sunnyside
- Grandview, WA7 mi
- Granger, WA9 mi
- Mabton, WA12 mi
- Zillah, WA14 mi
- Prosser, WA15 mi
- Toppenish, WA16 mi
- Moxee, WA21 mi
- Wapato, WA24 mi
- Benton City, WA25 mi
- Mattawa, WA27 mi
- West Richland, WA30 mi
- Yakima, WA32 mi
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