NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Washoe Valley, NV
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 Washoe Valley, Nevada since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 12 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 12
- 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 Washoe Valley
The strongest of the 12 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F1 on July 16, 1973; its path came within 22 miles. Of the 12, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 8 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 4. The most recent tornado was on September 21, 2017. Washoe Valley has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 87% of the 32 Nevada cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 10 times since 1985, with stones up to 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size). Washoe Valley has more hail reports within 10 miles than 71% of the 32 Nevada cities.
Compare Washoe Valley's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Washoe Valley
By decade
- 2010s2
- 2000s6
- 1990s3
- 1970s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 16, 1973 | F1 | 22 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Sep 21, 2017 | EF0 | 19 mi | 0.44 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 13, 2017 | EF0 | 10 mi | 2.01 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 27, 2005 | F0 | 5 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 24, 2004 | F0 | 25 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 2, 2003 | F0 | 20 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 2, 2003 | F0 | 9 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 1, 2002 | F0 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 10, 2000 | F0 | 19 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 13, 1999 | F0 | 19 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 30, 1998 | F0 | 24 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 9, 1997 | F0 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 12, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Washoe Valley
The Storm Prediction Center has 10 hail reports within 10 miles of Washoe Valley since 1985, made on 8 separate days. Of these, 6 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size), fell on October 5, 1993. The most recent report is from August 11, 2014. July and October have the most reports, 3 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Washoe Valley
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Virginia City, NV, 8 miles east of Washoe Valley at 6,340 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 62°F; December is the coolest, at 40°F and 26°F. February is the wettest at 2.1 inches of precipitation on average and July and August the driest at 0.2 inches; the year adds up to 11.8 inches over 27 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 10 days a year, almost all from July to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 120 nights a year. Snowfall averages 46.4 inches a year, most of it in January. That 11.8 inches is more than at 22 of the 27 Nevada stations used on this site (81%). Carson City, 8 miles south, has its own station (Carson City, NV): 9.3 inches a year, 2.5 less than here, and a July average high of 90°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41 | 27 | 1.8 | 4 | 13.0 |
| Feb | 43 | 29 | 2.1 | 4 | 8.7 |
| Mar | 49 | 33 | 1.6 | 3 | 9.3 |
| Apr | 55 | 36 | 0.5 | 2 | 2.3 |
| May | 64 | 44 | 0.7 | 2 | 0.7 |
| Jun | 74 | 53 | 0.6 | 1 | 0.2 |
| Jul | 84 | 62 | 0.2 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 60 | 0.2 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 53 | 0.3 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 43 | 0.7 | 2 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 49 | 33 | 1.1 | 3 | 2.4 |
| Dec | 40 | 26 | 2.0 | 4 | 9.5 |
| Year | 60 | 41 | 11.8 | 27 | 46.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Virginia City, NV (6,340 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 Washoe Valley
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 82 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Washoe Valley: 61 heavy rain events, 10 thunderstorm wind reports, 6 flash floods and 5 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $361,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 78 mph, on July 1, 2014. August has had the most flash floods, 4 of 6. Of the 29 Nevada cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 12 have had fewer than Washoe Valley.
July 20, 2003: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Washoe Valley — 2 injured.
January 8, 2017: flood 9 miles from the centre of Washoe Valley — $350,000 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 Washoe Valley's ZIP code 89704 have filed 13 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1982, and were paid $48,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 8% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 14 Nevada cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 2 have fewer than Washoe Valley.
Washoe County, which includes Washoe Valley, has been named in 54 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 43 fires, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Washoe County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for hail and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $273.8 million a year, the 2nd highest of 17 Nevada counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $80.0 million (29%), 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.