Linn County, Oregon

What hazards hit Linn County most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 407 since 1996. 46% of its winter storm records since 1996 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 Linn County had?

NOAA records 5 tornadoes in Linn County from 1994 to 2023, the strongest rated EF1, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. That is 14th of 36 Oregon counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. 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 5 tornadoes whose track touched Linn County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 5, 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 Linn County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the January 16, 2024 ice storm (1 death).

Nearly one-half on an inch of ice accumulated at the Corvallis AWOS, with up to 1 inch reported by the Public. This only added to the ice that had fallen on the 12th and 13th with continued disruptions to transportation and power. Also the persistent freezing temperatures over several days resulted in a suspected hypothermia fatality.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1164396)

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 Linn 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).

Wildfires in the 2020-26: 31 records against 8 in the decade before, 31 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 Linn 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?

46% of its winter storm records since 1996 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 Linn County

FEMA's register lists 21 declarations that include Linn County: 16 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 2 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (9) and flood (5).

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 Linn County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 22 flood or flash flood records for Linn County from 1996 to 2020, on 17 days, with 4 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Linn County ranks 1144th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.8 million on 137 claims filed in Linn County; the most in one year was 75 in 1996. 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 Linn County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Linn County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $71.1 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 Linn County

1. Lane County 1,115
2. Marion County 656
3. Linn County 632
4. Deschutes County 578
5. Jefferson County 455
6. Polk County 357
7. Benton County 347

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
• Winter storms in OregonThe state's winter storm 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 Linn CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Linn County's FEMA declarations (CSV)21 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis