NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Vernonia, 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 Vernonia, Oregon since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 13 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 13
- 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 Vernonia
The highest rating among the 13 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1 or EF1, reached 3 times; the most recent, on October 23, 2014, came within 22 miles. Of the 13, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 9 have come since 2000. October has had the most tornadoes, 5. The most recent tornado was on October 28, 2024. Vernonia has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 57% of the 149 Oregon cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 2 times since 1955, with stones up to 1 inch (quarter size). Of the 149 Oregon cities, 45% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Vernonia.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Vernonia
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s3
- 2000s3
- 1980s1
- 1970s1
- 1960s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 23, 2014 | EF1 | 22 mi | 1.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 13, 1984 | F1 | 22 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 16, 1978 | F1 | 17 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 28, 2024 | EF0 | 21 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 11, 2023 | EF0 | 25 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 10, 2020 | EF0 | 17 mi | 1.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 8, 2019 | EF0 | 24 mi | 0.11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 29, 2018 | EF0 | 21 mi | 0.07 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 13, 2004 | F0 | 21 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 6, 2004 | F0 | 20 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 28, 2000 | F0 | 19 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 23, 1966 | F0 | 16 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 13, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Vernonia
The Storm Prediction Center has 2 hail reports within 10 miles of Vernonia since 1955. All were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1 inch (quarter size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 4, 2017. The most recent report is from May 4, 2017.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Vernonia
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Vernonia #2, OR, in Vernonia at 625 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 78°F and low of 47°F; December is the coolest, at 44°F and 31°F. December is the wettest at 8.3 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 47.9 inches over 108 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 8 days a year, almost all from July to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 99 nights a year. Snowfall averages 1.1 inches a year, most of it in February. That 47.9 inches is more than at 51 of the 77 Oregon stations used on this site (66%). Scappoose, 15 miles southeast, has its own station (Scappoose Ind Airport, OR): 42.4 inches a year, 5.5 less than here, and an August average high of 82°F against 78°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Longview, WA, 21 miles northeast, averaged 72°F in August and 42°F in February over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F. Sea level at the Astoria tide gauge, 36 miles from Vernonia, has fallen 0.06 ± 0.06 inches per decade from 1925 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 0.6 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 16 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 46 | 32 | 6.9 | 14 | 0.3 | 43 |
| Feb | 49 | 31 | 5.3 | 12 | 0.6 | 42 |
| Mar | 54 | 34 | 5.3 | 13 | 0.0 | 45 |
| Apr | 59 | 36 | 3.7 | 11 | 0.0 | 50 |
| May | 66 | 40 | 2.4 | 7 | 0.0 | 56 |
| Jun | 70 | 44 | 1.4 | 5 | 0.0 | 62 |
| Jul | 77 | 47 | 0.4 | 1 | 0.0 | 70 |
| Aug | 78 | 47 | 0.6 | 2 | 0.0 | 72 |
| Sep | 73 | 43 | 1.8 | 4 | 0.0 | 68 |
| Oct | 61 | 38 | 4.1 | 9 | 0.0 | 62 |
| Nov | 51 | 34 | 7.7 | 14 | 0.0 | 52 |
| Dec | 44 | 31 | 8.3 | 15 | 0.2 | 46 |
| Year | 61 | 38 | 47.9 | 108 | 1.1 | 55 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Vernonia #2, OR (625 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Longview, WA, from NOAA Tides & Currents. 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 Vernonia
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 11 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Vernonia: 9 floods, 1 heavy rain event and 1 thunderstorm wind report. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $39.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 60 mph, on May 4, 2017.
December 9, 2015: flood in Vernonia — 1 killed, 1 injured, $2.3 million damage.
NWS: “The Nehalem River near Vernonia flooded Vernonia resulting in evacuation of residents and damage to many buildings and vehicles. A bridge washed out on TImber Road and isolated the Glenwood Community.”
December 3, 2007: flood in Vernonia — $36.0 million damage.
NWS: “The Upper Nehalem River flooded near Vernonia, and did devastating damage to the city. Numerous homes were completely flooded, and many families were evacuated.”
December 8, 2015: flood 1 mile from the centre of Vernonia — $824,000 damage.
NWS: “Flooding from the Nehalem River and Rock Creek in Vernonia resulted in evacuation of homes and the implementation of the Vernonia Emergency Command Center. Heavy rain resulted in a land slide that closed OR47 at mile marker 8.”
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 Vernonia's ZIP code 97064 have filed 324 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1982, and were paid $16.1 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Winter storm in 2007: 213 claims (66% of all) and $14.2 million, then Flooding in 1996 with 71. 88% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 77 Oregon cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 74 have fewer than Vernonia.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Winter storm2007 | 213 | $14.2 million |
| Flooding1996 | 71 | $1.7 million |
Columbia County, which includes Vernonia, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 4 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 coastal storm). The latest major disaster declaration was Wildfires and Straight-Line Winds, on September 15, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Columbia County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for heat waves; Relatively Low for inland flooding, coastal flooding and strong wind; Very Low for tornadoes, hail and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $33.9 million a year, the 20th highest of 36 Oregon counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $14.1 million (42%), 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 Vernonia
- Scappoose, OR15 mi
- Clatskanie, OR15 mi
- Banks, OR16 mi
- North Plains, OR17 mi
- Warren, OR17 mi
- Saint Helens, OR17 mi
- Rainier, OR18 mi
- Kalama, WA22 mi
- Forest Grove, OR23 mi
- Longview, WA23 mi
- Woodland, WA25 mi
- Cathlamet, WA25 mi
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