NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Union, 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 Union, Oregon since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 2 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 2
- 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 Union
The highest rating among the 2 tornadoes within 25 miles is F0, reached 2 times; the most recent, on June 23, 2004, came within 23 miles. Of the 149 Oregon cities on this site, 89% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Union. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 15 times since 1998, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Union has more hail reports within 10 miles than 93% of the 149 Oregon cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Union
By decade
- 2000s1
- 1980s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 23, 2004 | F0 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 1983 | F0 | 16 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 2 of 2, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Union
The Storm Prediction Center has 15 hail reports within 10 miles of Union since 1998, made on 8 separate days. Of these, 8 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on June 29, 2010. The most recent report is from August 5, 2024. July has the most reports, 6.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Union
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Union, OR, 2 miles west of Union at 2,777 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 50°F; December is the coolest, at 39°F and 25°F. May is the wettest at 2.5 inches of precipitation on average and July and August the driest at 0.5 inches; the year adds up to 14.9 inches over 46 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 29 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 135 nights a year. Snowfall averages 16.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 14.9 inches is more than at 19 of the 77 Oregon stations used on this site (25%). La Grande, 15 miles northwest, has its own station (La Grande, OR): 17.4 inches a year, 2.5 more than here, and the same August average high, 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40 | 25 | 1.2 | 4 | 5.3 |
| Feb | 45 | 27 | 0.9 | 3 | 2.9 |
| Mar | 53 | 31 | 1.3 | 4 | 1.2 |
| Apr | 59 | 34 | 1.7 | 6 | 0.4 |
| May | 68 | 41 | 2.5 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 74 | 47 | 1.7 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 51 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 87 | 50 | 0.5 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 43 | 0.7 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 34 | 1.2 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 48 | 31 | 1.5 | 5 | 1.4 |
| Dec | 39 | 25 | 1.2 | 4 | 4.9 |
| Year | 61 | 37 | 14.9 | 46 | 16.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Union, OR (2,777 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 Union
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 9 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Union: 4 floods, 3 thunderstorm wind reports and 2 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $331,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 58 mph, on August 31, 2007.
April 8, 2019: flood 2 miles from the centre of Union — $300,000 damage.
NWS: “There was widespread flooding of fields and lowlands along the river across Union County. There were at least 5000 acres of agricultural land flooded and numerous roads had 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 Union's 2 ZIP codes have filed 15 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1984, and were paid $64,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 77 Oregon cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 18 have fewer than Union.
Union County, which includes Union, has been named in 10 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms, 1 coastal storm). 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 Union County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes, hail and strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $12.4 million a year, the 24th highest of 36 Oregon counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.0 million (32%), 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 Union
- La Grande, OR15 mi
- Elgin, OR25 mi
- Baker City, OR28 mi
- Joseph, OR33 mi
- Enterprise, OR36 mi
- Walla Walla, WA56 mi
- Pendleton, OR56 mi
- Milton Freewater, OR57 mi
- College Place, WA64 mi
- Council, ID67 mi
- Weiser, ID76 mi
- Dayton, WA77 mi
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