Lake County, Oregon

What hazards hit Lake County most?

The most frequent records are high wind and dust records: 245 since 1999. 40% of its high wind and dust records since 1999 fell in December and January. The rank column places the county among Oregon's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Lake County had?

NOAA records 2 tornadoes in Lake County from 1973 to 2005, the strongest rated F0, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 2 tornadoes whose track touched Lake County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 2, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Oregon.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Lake County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the December 26, 2024 winter weather (1 death, 1 injury and $47,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Snow covered road conditions were considered a primary contributor to a head-on collision on Highway 20 at milepost 80 in northern Lake County. The collision resulted in one fatality. Estimated snowfall in the previous 12 hours of 2 to 4 inches would be representative of Advisory conditions.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1225038)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Lake County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

High wind and dust storms in the 2010s: 139 records against 40 in the decade before, 139 of them forecast-zone records. Cells marked z rose mostly through zone records. The local National Weather Service office files these once per forecast zone, so a change in how it draws its zones or splits a storm into records moves this count as much as the weather does; read it beside the Lake County days with a record above.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

40% of its high wind and dust records since 1999 fell in December and January. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Lake County

FEMA's register lists 12 declarations that include Lake County: 5 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 4 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for fire (5) and biological (2).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Lake County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 5 flood or flash flood records for Lake County from 1998 to 2019, on 5 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Lake County ranks 2358th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $151,000 on 10 claims filed in Lake County; the most in one year was 3 in 1981. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Lake County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Lake County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $6.0 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Lake County

1. Washoe County, NV 2,176
2. Klamath County 838
3. Lake County 705
4. Deschutes County 578
5. Modoc County, CA 467
6. Harney County 122

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Tornadoes in OregonEvery Oregon tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• High wind and dust storms in OregonThe state's high wind and dust records, by county, year and month
• The Oregon recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Lake CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Lake County's FEMA declarations (CSV)12 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis