Pierce County, Washington

What hazards hit Pierce County most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 210 since 1996. 48% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. The rank column places the county among Washington'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 Pierce County had?

NOAA records 9 tornadoes in Pierce County from 1978 to 2015, the strongest rated EF1, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. That is 4th of 39 Washington 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 9 tornadoes whose track touched Pierce County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 9, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Washington.

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 Pierce County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the January 9, 2023 strong wind (1 death).

Fire Training Academy RAWS station near Fall City, WA reported a peak gust of 45 mph the morning of the 9th. The gusts downed a tree which killed a women as she walking on her property.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1079900)

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 Pierce 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).

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

What time of year?

48% 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 Pierce County

FEMA's register lists 26 declarations that include Pierce County: 22 major disasters, 3 emergencies and one fire management assistance declaration. Most were for flood (11) and severe storm (8).

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 Pierce County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 22 flood or flash flood records for Pierce County from 1996 to 2024, on 20 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Pierce County ranks 308th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $26.0 million on 1,106 claims filed in Pierce County; the most in one year was 230 in 2009. 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 Pierce County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Pierce County Relatively High overall, with an expected annual loss of $532 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 Pierce County

1. King County 574
2. Yakima County 488
3. Pierce County 436
4. Lewis County 374
5. Mason County 265
6. Kitsap County 198
7. Thurston County 155

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 WashingtonEvery Washington tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Winter storms in WashingtonThe state's winter storm records, by county, year and month
• The Washington recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Pierce CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Pierce County's FEMA declarations (CSV)26 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis