NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Vale, 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 Vale, Oregon since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 9 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 9
- 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 Vale
The highest rating among the 9 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1, reached 6 times; the most recent, on April 30, 1997, came within 9 miles. Of the 9, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and one has come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on September 13, 2001. Of the 149 Oregon cities on this site, 50% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Vale. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 8 times since 1993, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Vale has more hail reports within 10 miles than 83% of the 149 Oregon cities.
Compare Vale's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Vale
By decade
- 2000s1
- 1990s5
- 1980s1
- 1970s1
- 1960s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 30, 1997 | F1 | 9 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 17, 1996 | F1 | 22 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 17, 1996 | F1 | 24 mi | 5.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 1, 1983 | F1 | 24 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 1974 | F1 | 21 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 25, 1966 | F1 | 17 mi | 19.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 13, 2001 | F0 | 24 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 17, 1997 | F0 | 20 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 30, 1997 | F0 | 19 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 9 of 9, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Vale
The Storm Prediction Center has 8 hail reports within 10 miles of Vale since 1993. Of these, 6 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on July 26, 2003. The most recent report is from May 16, 2023.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Vale
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Vale, OR, 6 miles southeast of Vale at 2,240 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 57°F; December is the coolest, at 37°F and 19°F. May and December are the wettest at 1.3 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 0.2 inches; the year adds up to 10.1 inches over 33 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 55 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 147 nights a year. That 10.1 inches is more than at 7 of the 77 Oregon stations used on this site (9%). Ontario, 17 miles east, has its own station (Ontario Ksrv, OR): 10.1 inches a year, the same as here, and the same July average high, 93°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 35 | 21 | 1.2 | 4 |
| Feb | 44 | 24 | 0.9 | 3 |
| Mar | 56 | 30 | 1.0 | 3 |
| Apr | 63 | 35 | 0.9 | 3 |
| May | 74 | 44 | 1.3 | 4 |
| Jun | 82 | 49 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Jul | 93 | 57 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Aug | 91 | 53 | 0.2 | 1 |
| Sep | 80 | 44 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Oct | 64 | 33 | 0.7 | 3 |
| Nov | 47 | 25 | 1.0 | 3 |
| Dec | 37 | 19 | 1.3 | 5 |
| Year | 64 | 36 | 10.1 | 33 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Vale, OR (2,240 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 Vale
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 9 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Vale: 7 thunderstorm wind reports, 1 flood and 1 heavy rain event. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 74 mph, on July 17, 1997.
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 Vale's ZIP code 97918 have filed 20 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $13,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1979, with 10. Of the 77 Oregon cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 28 have fewer than Vale.
Malheur County, which includes Vale, has been named in 7 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 3 of them major disasters (by incident: 2 biological emergencies, 1 coastal storm, 1 drought, 1 fire). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 28, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Malheur County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes and strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $10.5 million a year, the 26th highest of 36 Oregon counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.6 million (63%), 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 Vale
- Ontario, OR17 mi
- Nyssa, OR20 mi
- Fruitland, ID21 mi
- Payette, ID22 mi
- Parma, ID26 mi
- New Plymouth, ID26 mi
- Weiser, ID28 mi
- Wilder, ID34 mi
- Homedale, ID35 mi
- Caldwell, ID40 mi
- Emmett, ID42 mi
- Marsing, ID42 mi
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