Washoe County, Nevada

What hazards hit Washoe County most?

The most frequent records are high wind and dust records: 1,124 since 1996. The rank column places the county among Nevada'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 Washoe County had?

NOAA records 13 tornadoes in Washoe County from 1964 to 2017, the strongest rated F1, with 0 deaths and 1 injury recorded in the county. That is 2nd of 17 Nevada 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 13 tornadoes whose track touched Washoe County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 13, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Nevada.

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 Washoe County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 19, 2026 flash flood ($5.0 million in damage in 2025 dollars).

Law enforcement and the public reported significant flash flooding and debris flows impacting most of the Hidden Valley community in east Reno. Six homes suffered major damage or have been destroyed.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1340592)

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 Washoe 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?

Records by month in Washoe County. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Washoe County

FEMA's register lists 54 declarations that include Washoe County: 7 major disasters, 5 emergencies and 42 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for fire (43) and severe storm (4).

The 40 most recent of 54 are listed; the CSV has every one.

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 Washoe County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 63 flood or flash flood records for Washoe County from 1996 to 2026, on 46 days, with 2 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Washoe County ranks 398th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $30.9 million on 754 claims filed in Washoe County; the most in one year was 307 in 1997. 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 Washoe County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Washoe County Relatively High overall, with an expected annual loss of $274 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 Washoe County

1. Placer County, CA 2,214
2. Washoe County 2,176
3. Nevada County, CA 1,948
4. Carson City (city) 1,652
5. Lyon County 1,322
6. Storey County 1,118
7. Sierra County, CA 1,095
8. Lake County, OR 705
9. Lassen County, CA 624
10. Modoc County, CA 467
11. Humboldt County 420
12. Churchill County 292
13. Pershing County 259
14. Harney County, OR 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 NevadaEvery Nevada tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• High wind and dust storms in NevadaThe state's high wind and dust records, by county, year and month
• The Nevada recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Washoe CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Washoe County's FEMA declarations (CSV)54 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis