Yakima County, Washington

What hazards hit Yakima County most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 205 since 1996. 66% 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 Yakima County had?

NOAA records 8 tornadoes in Yakima County from 1957 to 2008, the strongest rated F2, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. That is 16th 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 8 tornadoes whose track touched Yakima County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 8, 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 Yakima County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the January 9, 2026 avalanche (2 deaths and 1 injury).

The Northwest Avalanche Center reported an avalanche occurred in Longs Pass when 4 backcountry skiers attempted to descend a south facing slope. Two of four skiers passed away from either injuries sustained from the avalanche or from being buried by avalanche debris. In their report, the Avalanche center suggested that the avalanche failed on a melt-freeze crust from a rain even that occurred earlier in the month.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1314555)

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 Yakima 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).

Extreme cold in the 2020-26: 19 records against 5 in the decade before, 19 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 Yakima 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?

66% 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 Yakima County

FEMA's register lists 39 declarations that include Yakima County: 17 major disasters, 6 emergencies and 16 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for fire (20) and flood (10).

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 Yakima County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 50 flood or flash flood records for Yakima County from 1998 to 2020, on 41 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Yakima County ranks 712th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $2.8 million on 320 claims filed in Yakima County; the most in one year was 107 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 Yakima County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Yakima County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $120 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 Yakima County

1. King County 574
2. Grant County 545
3. Yakima County 488
4. Pierce County 436
5. Klickitat County 435
6. Skamania County 403
7. Lewis County 374
8. Benton County 304
9. Kittitas County 296

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 Yakima CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Yakima County's FEMA declarations (CSV)39 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis