Marion County, Oregon

What hazards hit Marion County most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 402 since 1996. 47% 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 Marion County had?

NOAA records 11 tornadoes in Marion County from 1960 to 2022, the strongest rated EF2, with 0 deaths and 2 injuries recorded in the county. That is 2nd 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 11 tornadoes whose track touched Marion County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 11, 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 Marion County?

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

Around one-half inch of ice accumulated in the Salem area on the 16th with up to 1 inch reported by the Public. This resulted in power outages, travel disruptions, injuries due to slip and fall. 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 1164389)

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 Marion 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: 33 records against 8 in the decade before, 33 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 Marion 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?

47% 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 Marion County

FEMA's register lists 15 declarations that include Marion County: 10 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 2 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for fire (4) and flood (4).

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 Marion County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 34 flood or flash flood records for Marion County from 1996 to 2025, on 30 days, with 4 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Marion County ranks 599th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $6.0 million on 400 claims filed in Marion County; the most in one year was 165 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 Marion County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Marion County Relatively High overall, with an expected annual loss of $171 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 Marion County

1. Clackamas County 875
2. Marion County 656
3. Linn County 632
4. Yamhill County 456
5. Jefferson County 455
6. Wasco County 420
7. Polk County 357

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 Marion CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Marion County's FEMA declarations (CSV)15 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis